If It Means a Lot to You
by kazoozle
Summary: RealLife!AU. Weiss and Ruby have been best friends since they were 5, and have always dreamed of playing in a band together. And when Yang comes back into Ruby's life, that dream may become reality. Watch these four best friends go from a simple cover band into punk superstars! Freezerburn and Ladybug. Cover art by Eunnie-EV on DA
1. Friends

Chapter 1

Friends

 **I do not own RWBY or any music or pop culture references I may make in this story.**

* * *

Legume Elementary, Vale, Texas, 2003

Weiss

 _'How could Sarah let me attend this filthy school?'_ I asked myself internally. It was my first day at Legume Elementary, and I hated it already. It was noisey, the other children were annoying, let alone disgusting (one blonde boy picked his nose, had he no shame?), and there was no order. All the children were running around playing. This is supposed to be a school, shouldn't we be learning? We were all at the tender age of five, we should be learning all of life's skills!

 _"Weiss, you need to make friends in life,"_ my nanny Sarah had told me before. _"How can you be 'proper' if you don't know how to talk to people?"_ I didn't need people in my life! I had father, and Winter, and Reginald the butler! They were all I'd ever need! Besides, how could I be friends with children that disgusted me? I sat suffering for a while, until I heard singing. ' _Someone who sings? I sing. Maybe at least one person with a common interest wouldn't be that bad?'_ I looked for the source of the melody, whom eventually turned out to be a little girl with raven black hair that led into red tips. She was singing a song while drawing. ' _She draws, too? Hm, maybe I could actually make a friend here. Maybe if I do that, Sarah will pull me out of here and convince father to bring us back to Atlas.'_ As i made my way over to the girl, I started to hear more of what she was singing. The melody was nothing like I ever heard before. It was fast, upbeat. Nothing like the music that my mentor always made me practice. It may have sounded nice, if the girl would sing on key. As I drew closer, I started to make out lyrics:

 _Have I waited too long?_

 _Have I found that someone?_

 _Have I waited too long_

 _to see you?_

What do these mean? Found what someone? See who? I needed to get to the bottom of this song.

"Hey, you!" I said commandingly as I approached. The girl stopped singing and looked up from her drawing, a confused look in her face, that quickly turned into a cheery smile as she registered me.

"Hi, friend!" the girl said in the happiest tone I've ever heard. "My name's Ruby! What's yours?"

"Why did you call me friend if you didn't even know my name?" I asked her, completely dumbfounded at how familiar she was acting toward a complete stranger.

"You look like someone who could be my friend, so now you are!" said the girl, now known as Ruby, with the biggest smile I've ever seen. She hadn't known me for more than a minute, how could she want to be my friend already? She was already too much for my taste.

"I'm not your friend," I told her harshly, to no significant reaction, much to my chagrin. She was hopeless, I will ask my questions and leave before she gets any wrong ideas. "What song were you singing?"

"Hit or Miss by New Found Glory," Ruby said, still smiling. New Found Glory? Strange name for a composer.

"Who's New Found Glory?" I asked her.

"They're a band," she answered. A band?

"What kind of music do they play?" I ask. I had to know if Winter had ever heard of them, she knows more about lesser known classical groups.

"Punk," Ruby said. What is punk?

"What is punk?" I ask, vocalizing my thoughts.

"You've never heard of punk?" Ruby said, her smile morphing into confusion. "Bands like Blink-182, Green Day?" My confusion only worsened.

"Who?" I ask. Are these well known artists? Am I missing something that is common knowledge?

"Okay, well you know rock music, right?" Ruby asked. Oh no. Of course. This explains everything. I would never listen to that talentless noise.

"You mean that garbage that poor people listen too? As if I'd listen to that," I say, slightly annoyed. Why am I talking to her anymore? She's obviously from a completely different world.

"We should play together sometime! I can show you some really good bands! Do you play video games?" Ruby asked. That's it.

"Absolutely not, and no, I will never spend time with you," I answer. How dare she try to expose me to these indecent things? I'm a Schnee, why would I do anything that commoners would take part in? I need to get away from this girl, I want nothing to do with her anymore. But as I turn to walk away, she catches my attention once more.

"Wait, you never told me your name!" Ruby said, smile returning. She must be really dense.

"Weiss," I say to her after a short pause. Thank god that was over, I can't believe she wanted to be my friend.

* * *

Vale, Texas, 2016

"FUCK YOU AND YOUR BLUE SHELL, RUBY!" I yell at my best friend as she steals my win, laughing her ass off. That's three times in a row now, I must be off today. I wish Blake would get here already so we can end this slaughter.

"Aww c'mon Weiss!" Ruby said, still chuckling. "You forget who taught you how to play Mario Kart in the first place." The smug-ass grin on her face made me want to stab her. Taiyang wouldn't mind, he loves me more anyway, I'd still keep my basement room. Hell, he'd probably help me hide the body.

Ruby's phone vibrating pulled me out of my murder plans. "Anyone ever tell you that you're too competitive?" she said as she pulled out her phone, she must've noticed me glaring at her. She looked at the text message and smiled more, "Blake's just around the corner!" she said excitedly.

"Did you get any new songs for tonight?" I asked her. It was Friday night, and every Friday night, Blake comes over and we all play Rock Band. Ruby figured out how to add custom songs to the game, and Blake figured out how to make custom songs. Once they figured everything out, we all decided to play every week. I was always on vocals, with Blake doing harmonies, Ruby would play guitar, and Blake would play bass, just like we all did in real life. It was the closest we could all come to being in an actual band. We tried to form one, but we just couldn't find a drummer that fit well with the group.

"Yup!" replied Ruby. "Blake and I got Right Back at it Again for you, I got Dear Maria, Count Me In, and Blake got Tear in My Heart!" They knew me so well. How could I not be happy when they added an A Day to Remember song to the game? They got songs from their favorite bands too, this was going to be a good night.

"What about Tear in My Heart?" Blake asked as she walked in.

"I was just telling Weiss what songs we put in the week," Ruby replied happily. I went over and turned the Xbox on while they got the instruments and microphones all set up.

"What are we going to play first?" asked the Faunus.

"We can play Twenty One Pilots first if you'd like," I told her. "It'd be a nice warmup for me." She smiled and started scrolling through the song list to Twenty One Pilots, and chose Tear in My Heart. The three of us all selected Expert, and our virtual band appeared on screen. With smiles on our faces, Blake and Ruby both played the first few measures, leading into my cue:

 _Sometimes you gotta bleed to know_

 _That you're alive and have a soul!_

* * *

 **Hey everyone! This is my first fic, and it could go for a while, there's a lot of thing I wanna do with this story! Please let me know what you think! To clarify, this story is set in the real world, with locations and other things from Remnant being translated into the real world. I have Vale set in Texas for several reasons, mostly because RT is based there, Atlas is in Wisconsin, because the climates match and I'm from Wisconsin, Vacuo is in Nevada because desert, and Mistral is in South Carolina. The girls are all fans of real life bands, movies, video games, etc.**


	2. Family

Chapter 2

Family

* * *

Yang

A lot of people use the radio to drown out their thoughts. They crank the tunes to make it impossible to think about what's wrong in their lives, what could have gone better, what they could change, or how they could just pull the steering wheel to get out, start over. Okay, I might not have been _that_ depressed. But, despite my speakers blaring at full blast, I couldn't stop thinking. Why couldn't things just work out for me? Everything I touch just has to turn to shit, doesn't it? Band's broken up, I can't speak another word to my mother, can't afford college, can't get a good job with just a diploma, and I'm homeless.

"God dammit, Zak," I said to myself, cursing my now ex-bandmate. If he hadn't gotten in that fight with Arin, we'd be prepping for a show right now. Now here I am, driving back to Vale, with nothing but my clothes, my drumkit, my car, and no backup plan. But despite all of my anger and frustration, I was excited. Excited to see my dad and sister again. I haven't seen much of them since I started touring. Well, even less I should say. After Mom and Dad got divorced, I could only stay with my dad one weekend per month. To this day I wonder how my barely-functioning, alcoholic mother was able to snag that agreement. That's the American court system for you, I guess.

They didn't know I was coming yet, I couldn't wait to see their faces when I got there! Especially Ruby's, even though we're only half-sisters, we still have the best sibling relationship I've ever seen. Maybe it's because we never lived together, we never got sick of each other. Most of her childhood, she wanted to do everything I did. I taught her how to play video games, I showed her Star Wars (I wonder if she's seen the new one yet?), and probably the biggest one, I got her into music. As it turns out, she was a prodigy. She got a guitar for her seventh birthday, and within a month she was playing along to my drumming. After that she learned bass, piano, drums (I was miles above her on drums though), any instrument she could get her hands on, she needed to be proficient in. Every time I visit, we play together. I can't wait to see how much she's progressed since last time!

I couldn't help but smile at that thought. She's 18 now, she'll be graduating school this year. She would always talk about school on my visits. I remember this time when I was 8, she came home from Kindergarten raving about her new friend, Weiss. I was ecstatic that she managed to make a friend on her first day of school. Or this other time in her freshman year, she talked about how Weiss and her defended this Faunus girl, Blake I think her name was? I was so proud of her for doing the right thing. I haven't met either of these two yet though, maybe I'll get the chance to while I'm staying with Dad and Ruby.

"Speak of the devil," I say aloud. "Here's his street." I park in the driveway and collect myself. _Look strong Yang, it's not as bad as it seems._ I let out a deep sigh as I climb out of the car. I feel myself shaking a bit as I approach the door. _Why am I so nervous? It's just Dad, what do I have to be scared of?_ I reach up to knock at the door, but hesitate again. _It's okay Yang, he loves you. You haven't given him a reason not to. He's not Mom._ I knock on the door. I hear some movement on the inside, just before the door opens. In front of me stood a man just a few inches taller than myself, but with the same blonde hair and lilac eyes. Dad.

It takes him a second to register that it's me, but once he does, he sports the biggest grin I've seen in a while. "Yang!" he says in his usual cheerful voice, wrapping me in the biggest bear hug. "I missed you so much!" he says as he hugs me.

Here it comes. I tried so hard to stay composed, but hearing him say that opened up the floodgates. "What's wrong?" he asks me, sounding concerned.

"I missed you too," I say, a little choked up, as I hugged him tighter.

"Come on inside!" he says, releasing me. "Have a seat and tell me what's up." He seemed so genuinely happy to see me. He always looked happy to see me, but it seemed more than usual tonight. Maybe being gone on tour for so long made him even happier.

"So what brings you here tonight Yang?" Dad asks as he turns down the TV.

"Well…" I say, looking down slightly. "Shit kinda hit the fan."

"What do you mean?" he asks me, quizzical look on his face.

"The band broke up," I say, deflating slightly.

"Oh Yang, that's awful," he said, concern growing in his face. "What happened?"

"Zak and Arin got in a fight. It was so stupid. Zak wanted to take a break from touring to focus on writing more original music, while Arin wanted to keep going and ride out our EP for a little longer. Aria and I sided with Zak, endless touring and playing the same songs every night is exhausting. Ryan sided with Arin, both thinking that we'd lose steam if we took a break."

"It escalated, Zak and Arin got physical, I had to break them up. The guys wanted nothing to do with each other anymore, leaving just Aria and me. Not much of a band with just two members, right? So I packed up my things, and here I am," I finish. He looks at me, understanding in his eyes.

"You need a place to stay, don't you?" he asks, figuring out where I was going. I nod slowly. He cracks a smile. "Well, I don't know. We got a bit of a full house here, but let's go see what we can do," he says as he stands up, motioning for me to follow. I follow him down the hallway to a door. Wait no, _my_ door, from when I would have my monthly visits. "Well, this will have to do, let me know if the décor is to your liking," he says, winking at me.

I open the door, and my jaw hits the floor. It's exactly the way I left it. Bed in the corner, stereo across the room, bright yellow paint, my emblem on the wall, my tv, my desk, everything. I turn around and give him the biggest hug I can manage.

"Thank you so much, Dad," I say, a little teary-eyed again.

"I'm your father, Yang," he says, reciprocating the hug. "You don't need to thank me."

I smile and nod, but then I notice something. It's too quiet. I didn't get tackled, there's no music playing, no video games.

"Hey, where's Ruby?"

* * *

 **Hey everybody! Here's chapter 2! I tried to make this one a little bit longer, after noticing how short the first chapter was, hopefully I can get better at longer chapters. Also 85 views and 4 favorites already? On my first fic? You guys are awesome, you know that? Also, send me some reviews and PM's, I'd love to hear what you guys have to say!**


	3. Sisters

Chapter 3

Sisters

* * *

Weiss

"We know Ruby, this is the fifth time we've seen it," I said as we walked out the theater. I looked at Blake for some form of support. She shot me an apologetic look. Thanks a lot, Blake. As much as I liked Star Wars, having Ruby gush over it after seeing the movie got old after the third viewing.

"But Weeeeeiiisss! It's so good having Star Wars back! And they left so many questions unanswered! WE NEED TO DISCUSS AND SPECULATE!" She tried to tackle me at that last part. I kept my hand on her forehead so she wouldn't.

"Ruby, you do realize that we have less than 18 months until Episode 8 comes out, right?" Blake chimed in. Why'd she have to go and do that?

"WHAT?" Ruby shrieked at the news. "OhmygodohmygodOHMYGOD!" She was bouncing around the parking lot at this point. I shot a glare at Blake, hoping that she understood how much hatred I had for her at the time. The fact that she donned that smug smirk of hers when we locked eyes meant my mission was a success.

"C'mon dunce," I say, grabbing Ruby by the hood so she didn't bounce too far away from my car. "Time to go."

"Ooh! Shotgun!" Ruby called. I might've been hearing things, but I could've sworn I heard Blake mutter "Fuck" under her breath. As I start to pull the car out, Ruby grabs my auxiliary cord and plugs her phone in. "What are you guys feeling tonight?"

"Maybe something a bit relaxing," I suggest, wanting to dispel the energy that Ruby is constantly generating.

"Yeah, that sounds nice," Blake agreed. Ruby must be draining her, too.

"How's The Maine sound?" Ruby asks us.

"I'm down," I say. Ruby turned back to look at Blake, who nodded in agreement.

"Okay, let's see here," Ruby says as to herself as she scrolls through her music. "Aha! Here we go!" Color by The Maine comes on.

Ruby started playing air guitar as soon as the song came on, and I could see Blake nodding her head to the beat through my rear-view mirror. I hummed the tune of the lyrics while I drove. I love driving with music on. It helps me focus, clear my head a bit. It also serves as a bit of a distraction when Ruby got out of hand. Don't get me wrong, I love the girl like a sister. However, she is a bit excitable, and sometimes I just don't have the patience to. Those times, I really wonder how I manage to live with her. But then again, they also remind me that I'm much more loved and comfortable around Ruby and Taiyang than I ever was, or would be, around my own family. I'm glad Sarah understood that, and covered my father for me since I left.

Once we dropped off and said our goodbyes to Blake, I started heading home. Suddenly, the music was turned down. Confused, I looked at Ruby for an answer. She had a very worried look on her face.

"You okay, Ruby?" I asked her, slightly concerned.

"Was… Was I a bit too much before? In the parking lot?" Ruby said, the worry on her face increasing.

"A little bit," I said, smirking a little. "But nothing I'm not used to," I add, ruffling her hair a bit. She seemed to relax at that. "You've been worrying about your behavior a lot lately. Is everything okay?"

She sighed. "Weiss, we're 18 now. We're graduating from Signal in a few months. It's almost time for us to be adults, and sometimes I still feel like I act like a 12-year-old."

"Well, you wouldn't be Ruby if you acted any differently, would you?" I asked her.

"Weiss, current Ruby is going to be eaten alive out in the real world! C'mon, you know me. I'm excitable, immature, I don't have any talents that will benefit me in adult life. I gotta reign that stuff in, or I'm not going to get anywhere in life," she said, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

"Hey," I said, tapping her on the arm and throwing a warm smile in her direction. "Don't try to grow up too fast. Nobody's ready for life after graduation, Ruby. School doesn't prepare you for that. You're supposed to make your own way in the world. What do you want to do after high school?"

"What do I want to do? Or what can I do?" she said, with a little salt in her voice.

"In reality Ruby, there's no difference. The only limit put onto you is the one you put there," I reassured her.

"Well, I want to make music," she admitted.

"Then that's what you'll do," I told her. "I do too. Remember, even if we can't get a band together, we can still work in the industry. We could go to college for music, and your dad works at Beacon Records! I guarantee we could snag some jobs through him, especially if we have the credentials! You can do anything you set your mind to, Ruby, you just gotta let yourself get there."

Ruby smiled. "Thanks, Weiss," she said, her trademark cheeriness returning. The rest of the drive was uneventful, just Ruby and I thinking with the music playing. It wasn't long until I pulled up to Taiyang's house, but I noticed something different. There was a yellow car parked in the street.

"Ruby, do you know who's car that is?" I asked Ruby. She looked as confused as I did.

"No clue, maybe it's one of Dad's friends?" she replied.

"Well, guess we'll find out in a minute," I said as we climbed out of the car. Ruby walked into the door first, but froze a few steps in. I stepped in and scanned the room. There were two people on the couches. Taiyang was sitting back on the couch, usual smug smirk on his face. I looked over to see who was on the other couch, and I was stunned. On that couch, was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She shared a lot of features with Taiyang. She had his blonde hair color, his lilac eyes, his tall build, and that same smirk on her face. Her hair reached down to her waist, and I couldn't help but wonder how she kept it looking that good.

It took a second for Ruby to snap out of her stupor. "YANG!" she cried as she bolted toward the woman and tackled her. Yang? This was Ruby's older half-sister? The woman finally took notice of me after a second of hugging Ruby. She looked me up and down, a questioning look on her face.

"Ruby, did you botch dying someone's hair again?" Yang said as she let Ruby go. Any positive thoughts I may have had of her were immediately destroyed by this comment.

"Excuse me?" I asked her, a bit shocked at the blunt question. "This is my natural hair color!" How dare she? Who says that when meeting someone for the first time?

"Oh, it's a good look for you!" Yang said, adopting a cheery smile that wasn't unlike Ruby's. I can see the family resemblance now. This is a version of Ruby with no manners whatsoever.

"Yang, this is my best friend Weiss," Ruby said. 'You know, the one I met when I was five?"

"Yeah, you told me about her," Yang replied, standing up and walking over to me. "I'm Yang, it's nice to meet you!" she said, extending her hand. I held my scowl on her for a moment, before turning away and heading down to my room.

* * *

Yang

"Umm, is that normal?" I asked Ruby as her friend walked downstairs.

"That she's walking downstairs? Or that she rejected your handshake?" Ruby asked.

"Both," I say, a bit confused.

"Well, her room is downstairs, so that part is normal," Ruby replied. She lives here? Wonder what the story is behind that.

"As for her rejecting you, it might be because you offended her," Ruby continued.

"What did I do? I just met her!" I reply.

"I don't think commenting on her hair was a very good first impression." Dad chimed in.

"That was a joke toward Ruby though! And I gave her a compliment afterward," I retort.

"Weiss relies pretty heavily on first impressions. You might want to talk to her at some point to clear that up," Ruby said. I wasn't sure if I was going to get along with this chick, she seemed really high-maintenance.

"Anyway, what's up, Yang? What brings you here?" Ruby asked, her eyes glowing with excitement. I recounted the story about my band to her, "Aww sis, that's awful!"

"Yeah, so I'm gonna be staying here until I can get back on my feet!" I told her draping my arm over her shoulder. She seemed overjoyed to hear this.

"That's awesome! Oh my god I have so much to tell you!" Well, I should probably grab a beer. This is going to take a while.

* * *

 **Wow Weiss, way to be a bitch. Thanks for reading guys! Remember to review and favorite if you like it, I love getting your feedback! See you next chapter!**


	4. Adjustment

Chapter 4

Adjustment

* * *

Weiss

I can't stand Yang. It's been two weeks since she moved in, and I already have more murder plans for her than I do for Ruby. She's loud, obnoxious, nosey, and far too physical. She's constantly trying to hug me and talk to me as if we're friends. Why would I ever be friends with someone so rude and inconsiderate as her? Needless to say most of my time was now spent in my room, I hate going upstairs. Ruby comes down to my room to hang out anyway, and that's where Rock Band is set up, so it's not like we have to end our Rock Band nights. I don't talk to Taiyang as much now though, but I do when Yang's not around.

Lately I've been drowning myself in some old games that I missed as a kid, and locking myself in my room has given me plenty of time to focus on them. I didn't play video games until I started hanging out with Ruby, so there's a lot that I missed from the 90's. First one that Ruby showed me was Super Mario 64. I really liked that one, especially since one of the first games that Ruby had me play was Super Mario Sunshine. I've liked Mario games since. After that, Ruby showed me Banjo-Kazooie, saying that it was similar to Mario 64. She was wrong, it's so much better in my opinion. I liked the design of the characters (I honestly related to Kazooie, she doesn't deal with anyone's nonsense and tells it like it is), and the gameplay is a lot of fun. But currently, I'm playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Oh. My. God. This is one of the best things I've ever experienced. The gameplay, the art direction, the music, it's all perfect! I really need to thank Ruby for this one.

Speak of the devil, Ruby came downstairs. "How do you like Ocarina, Weiss?" she asked me with a proud smile on my face.

"I love it!" I told her happily. "The Water Temple was bullshit, but other than that it's wonderful!"

"Yeah, that seems to be the general opinion," Ruby said. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," I said, pausing the game. "What's up?"

"Well," she said, hesitating. "It's about Yang-"

"Oh my god," I replied, annoyed beyond reason at hearing the blonde's name. "Ruby, I don't want to talk about your brute of a sister."

"Now Weiss, hear me out," she pleaded.

I sighed. "Fine, what about her?"

"I really think you should try warming up to her a bit more," she said.

"Absolutely not."

"Weiss, c'mon. Why not?"

"Because, Ruby, I can never be friends with someone who insults me on our first time meeting, and then continue to be annoying," I explained. "First impressions are everything."

"Weiss, what was your first impression of me?"

"How would I remember that? We were five!"

"Don't remember, huh? Well I distinctly remember you being the Queen Bitch in Kindergarten," Ruby said, her father's smirk on her face. That's one thing that all three members of the Xiao Long family shared, and strangely enough, Blake's was very similar.

"I don't remember that," I lied. "What are you getting at?"

"Well Weiss, would you say that was a great first impression that you made that day?" Ruby asked. Damn her.

"N-no…" I answered, deflating slightly.

"And how did I respond to it?"

"You kept trying to be my friend," I say, smiling at the memory of her childhood antics.

"Weiss, you hated me at first. You thought that I was utter trash because I listened to punk music and played video games. Know what happened?"

"What?" I ask, but I was pretty sure I knew where she was going with this.

"As we spent more time together in school, you warmed up to me. You started tolerating me more. The more we talked, the more you lightened up, the more you took an interest in things outside of your bubble. When we first met, you were completely against video games and any music that wasn't classical. Now look at you, you're playing Zelda and your favorite band is A Day to Remember. We got off on the wrong foot, but now we're practically sisters, hell you live with me! You and Yang also got off on the wrong foot. I'm not saying it's a sure thing, you two may never see eye to eye, but you'll never have a chance to make a new friend if you're constantly hiding from her," Ruby finished.

I thought over it a second. Every point was valid. It is stupid to lock myself in my room because of Yang. Maybe she's right, maybe if I did come out of my cave, Yang and I would warm up to each other. It's highly unlikely, but possible.

"Okay Ruby, I'll stop hiding," I conceded.

"YES! Ok that's awesome! Sooooo yeah you should come upstairs, like, really soon because Dad misses you a bunch!" Ruby said as she walked upstairs. I chuckled at her antics. As worried as she is about growing up, she just crushed me in maturity levels. I locked myself in my room because I was mad at Yang, how petty could one person be? And Ruby comes down and knocks me down a peg. I take it for granted, but I am lucky to have a friend like her, no matter how much she gets on my nerves.

* * *

Yang

I really wish I could figure out the Ice Queen. She is the dictionary definition of a bitch. She's judgemental, callous, and never has anything nice to say to me. And yet, I've got a huge crush on her. She is easily the prettiest girl I've ever met. It's been a month since I moved in and I can't even get her to give me the time of day. Ruby managed to get Weiss out of her room, but she still gives me the cold shoulder (get it?). Why couldn't I have a crush on Blake? We hit it off right away!

I turned off the TV and threw my head back. "I'm so bored!" I said out loud. Every job that I applied to turned me down, and I had absolutely nothing to do otherwise. But as I listened to nothing, I heard something. Music? Good music. Coming from Weiss's room. Did I see Ruby and Blake go down there earlier? Time to go investigate!

I got up and headed downstairs to see what was going on. As i got to the bottom of the stairs, I noticed that the girls were playing Rock Band. _Oh, yeah, it's Friday. Rock Band day._ Not to my surprise, Ruby and Blake were on guitar and bass. Ruby's played most of her life, and Blake mentioned that she played bass. What caught my eye though, was Weiss on vocals. I heard her voice when I was walking down, and it was _really good_.

"Well girls, what song's next?" Ruby asked.

"Actually Ruby, would it be okay if we played You be Tails, I'll be Sonic?" Weiss asked. The verses are all unclean, can Weiss scream?

"Sure!" Ruby answered her cheerfully.

"You sure Ruby? We know you don't like screaming," Blake chimed in. Ruby would scream? Yeah, I've heard her scream, that's not gonna happen.

"Guys, if Weiss wants to play a song, then we'll play the song, I'll just deal," Ruby said. Always so selfless.

"Thanks Ruby!" said Weiss. Holy shit she's smiling, I didn't think that was possible. Ruby really can bring out the best in people. All three of them picked their difficulties and got ready for the song. Now was my chance. I walked across the room to Ruby as she played to opening riff. Right before the opening verse kicked in, I grabbed Ruby's mic off of her stand and cut loose.

Yang(unclean): I'm a mess, that's the best way to describe it

I leave no time to myself, the only way I can fight it

When I'm alone, it's like I'm staring into a mirror

Don't know the person inside it and that's never been any clearer

I miss your family and I miss all our friends

If you had to do it over would you do it over again?

Cause I would, it means something more to me

There's a hole in my heart where you used to be

I watched their reactions to my surprise entry. Ruby was smiling, no surprise there, we played this game all the time before I left, and we would have jam sessions whenever I visited. Blake looked surprised at first, but got into it pretty quick. Weiss, on the other hand, look outright shocked. She was so surprised that I had to motion to her that her part was coming up.

Weiss: I still wish you the best of luck baby

And don't go thinking that this was a waste of time

I couldn't forget you if I tried

You killed what was left of the good in me

I'm tired so let me be broken

Look down at the mess that's in front of me

No other words need be spoken

And I've got nobody else to blame though I tried

Kept all of my past mistakes held inside

I'll live with regret for my whole life

Weiss nailed it! I smiled at her as she sang, her voice was as pretty as she was, and it works surprisingly well in this genre. My turn again!

Yang(unclean): I confess, that I brought this all on myself

Condemned to suffer alone, like there's nobody else

When your gone, it's like a whole part of me's missing

So I'll keep living the lie and just hope that your listening

I tried to make us a life here

But our foundation was built on sand

No time to run until the damage was done

And I never had the upper hand

I might've been seeing things, but I'm pretty sure Weiss was smiling at me. Is this working? Is this really all I needed to do?

Weiss: I still wish you the best of luck baby

And don't go thinking that this was a waste of time

I couldn't forget you if I tried

You killed what was left of the good in me

I'm tired so let me be broken

Look down at the mess that's in front of me

No other words need be spoken

And I've got nobody else to blame though I tried

Kept all of my past mistakes held inside

I'll live with regret for my whole life

Here come my favorite parts of any song, the buildup, and the breakdown.

Yang(unclean): All the things you love are all the things I hate

How did we get here in the first place?

I play it cool but it's hard to me

Blake: (All my trust)

Yang(unclean): It's always burning inside of me

Blake: (Over what?)

Yang(unclean): There can't be anymore progress, I know our fate

The only thing that can heal this is time and space

Weiss: You killed what was left of the good in me

I'm tired so let me be broken

Look down at the mess that's in front of me

No other words may be spoken

And I've got nobody else to blame though I tried

Kept all of my past mistakes held inside

I'll live with regret for my whole life

For my whole life

For my whole life

As the song ended, in typical Ruby fashion, she started bouncing around the room. "Oh my god guys that was AWESOME! Yang and Weiss sound so good together! Oh my god, Weiss! Can Yang play with us all the time? IT WAS SO COOL!"

"Whoa there sis," I said as I grabbed her arm to keep her still. "Kick it down a notch." She was right though, Weiss and I did sound good together. Wait, we have a singer, a guitarist, a bassist, and I'm a drummer.

"Ruby, Blake, go grab a guitar, a bass, mics, and amps, and all of you meet me in the garage. Make sure the guitars are tuned to Drop C." I told them.

"Why would we do that?" Weiss asked, her typical annoyed scowl returning to her face.

"Because I have an idea!"

* * *

 **What's going on in that big blonde head Yang? I had a lot of fun writing this one, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out! Well guys, next time we'll see what Yang"s got up her sleeve!**


	5. Dreams

Chapter 5

Dreams

* * *

Weiss

"What the hell does that brute have planned?" I asked Ruby as we were setting up mic stands in the garage.

"Weiss, c'mon, you're smarter than that," Ruby snarked.

"Well why would she want us to set stuff up in the garage?" I asked. "If she wanted to keep yelling into a microphone, we could've kept playing Rock Band. We don't even have a drummer! Is Taiyang supposed to drum for us?"

"Weiss, Yang was the drummer in her band before it broke up," Blake chimed in.

"How do you know that?" I asked, dumfounded at Blake's sudden knowledge of Yang's life.

"Well, unlike you, I actually talk to her," Blake answered. "She's really cool if you get to know her."

"She is not cool! Ruby, I said I'd stop hiding, but she hasn't given me reason to even talk to her. She's still just as rude and obnoxious as the day I met her! Is she even a good drummer? I don't think her band would've broken up if she were good," I said. Ruby smirked a bit and chuckled as she double checked the tuning of her guitar. "What's so funny?"

"How ridiculous you're being!" Ruby said, smirk growing into a full smile. "Weiss, let's just play a song with her and see how it goes, who knows? It could be great!"

I sighed as I checked my microphone. Yang's screams were really good, there's no doubt about that. I did not like, however, how she just invited herself in to our Rock Band night and stole the show. Now here I am, being forced to do more activities with her. Actually, why was I there? Nobody said I had to be there. I could've left if I wanted to. Maybe it was my curiosity, wanting to see how Yang's plan played out. Or maybe it was because I'm stubborn.

"Ruby, quit noodling, I gotta tune," Blake said, interrupting my thought process. Ruby had a habit of playing random notes when bored, or "noodling." Of course, Blake couldn't tune with the extra noise.

"Sorry Blake," Ruby said, giggling a little. She wasn't sorry.

"Alright ladies!" Yag said as she walked in and sat behind the drum kit. "We all set to go?" That drum kit has been in this garage since I met Ruby, and seeing Yang sit behind it, somehow it all just clicked into place. She was like the missing part of a painting. The tall girl sitting behind a golden drum kit, her muscles rippling as she checked all of the drums' tuning, the flaming heart emblem vibrating as Yang kicked her bass pedals. It was a beautiful sight really, I- wait what? This isn't right. Yang's not attractive in any way. She's not talented, or pretty, her body isn't perfectly curved- Stop it, STOP IT!

"I'm ready!" Ruby said, excitedly. "Blake?"

"Hang on," Blake said, checking her top two strings. When the strings rang the correct notes, she smirked and looked up. "Ready."

"Awesome! Weiss?" Yang said looking at me, a sparkle in her eyes. My face felt hot all of a sudden.

"Hmph," was all replied with, turning away. Was I blushing?

"Alright then, let's do this!" Yang cheered. She leaned over to the mic that was set up for her. Can she really drum and do vocals at the same time?

Yang(clean): Dadadadadadadada da da, da da da da, da,

I broke into a huge smile, this was the song that got me into A Day to Remember. Ruby and Blake had familiar smiles on too, both had mastered this song on their instrumnents.

All: Dadadadadadadada da da, dada, dada

Yang(unclean): LET'S GO

Ruby, Blake, and Yang jumped right into the iconic opening breakdown. All three of them chugged along to the same rhythm as the opening. I loved how heavy, yet catchy it was, which is why it's one of my favorite songs to this day. My part was up next!

Weiss: It's not easy making a name for yourself

Where do you draw the line?

I never thought I'd get in this far

Let's have some fun and never change that for anyone

Try not to miss me when I'm gone

Blake: Whoa, whoa

Weiss: I sold my soul to the open road

Yang(unclean): I"LL LIVE MY LIFE ALONE

Weiss: You won't find me in the same spot

believe me

I could never stop

My life's turned upside down

Meet me out

past these train tracks

I'm leaving and not coming back

You're right and I was wrong

This town will be the downfall of us all

The opening breakdown repeated after the chorus. I've never played with a full band before. It was exhilarating! It was energetic! And most of all, it was _fun_. I looked at the other girls as they played. Ruby was dancing and jumping around in her admittedly small space. Blake was moving around a lot more than she usually does. And Yang, for lack of a better word was captivating. The toothy grin on her face, the sweat forming on her brow, the- oh shit I almost missed my part!

I'm gonna need you to try and follow along

I did the best that I could

To try to write you songs

Okay Yang, show me how talented you really are.

Yang(unclean): Now go tell them we sold out

Like we're the ones who changed

I write what I feel

I say what I mean

Can't buy sincerity

I really wish I would have had time to process that, it was amazing.

Blake: Whoa, whoa

Weiss: I sold my soul to the open road

Yang(unclean): I'LL LIVE MY LIFE ALONE

Weiss: You won't find me in the same spot

believe me

I could never stop

My life's turned upside down

Meet me out

past these train tracks

I'm leaving and not coming back

You're right and I was wrong

This town will be the downfall of us all

This is one of Ruby's favorite songs to play. It's technical, yet not overly complex. Ruby likes it because it's more than 4 chords, but she can still have a lot of fun with it. I've watched her play the song before. The bridge is her favorite part. Her right hand moves a lot during this part, and her smile's at it's brightest.

Don't forget yourselves

We made up our minds

and we signed

All: 3! 4! 5!

Weiss:on the dotted line

Don't forget yourselves

We made up our minds

and we signed

All: 3! 4! 5!

Weiss:on the dotted line

You won't find me in the same spot

believe me

I could never stop

My life's turned upside down

Meet me out

past these train tracks

I'm leaving and not coming back

You're right and I was wrong

You won't find me in the same spot

believe me

I could never stop

My life's turned upside down

Meet me out

past these train tracks

I'm leaving and not coming back

You're right and I was wrong

This town will be the downfall of us all

This town will be the

All: DOWNFALL OF US ALL

DOWNFALL OF US ALL

DOWNFALL OF US ALL

DOWNFALL OF US ALL

DOWNFALL OF US

Yang(unclean): ALL

Before any of us could even think about reacting to the impromptu song, we heard clapping. All four of us turned to the doorway to see Taiyang, a toothy smirk on his face.

"So what's the name?" he asked.

"Th-the name of what?" I asked, thoroughly confused.

"The band that you four would be stupid not to form," he said, holding his Xiao Long smirk. "That is the most raw talent I've ever seen come from 4 girls who have never played together. If I had the power, I'd sign you to Beacon this instant."

The collective jaw drop was almost audible. We did sound really good. Ruby is a musical prodigy, and the best guitarist I know. Blake has always shown exemplary talent at bass. And Yang… she was nothing short of amazing. I hate to admit it, but she impressed me. It's one thing to be a good unclean vocalist and a good drummer, but to be great at both and capable of doing great at both at the same time is incredible. He's right, we'd have to be crazy to not take advantage of our skills.

I looked at Ruby and Blake. We all smiled at each other, knowing exactly what to name the band. The three of us have talked about playing in a band together as long as the three of us have been friends. This was our chance, and if we're going to chase this dream, we need to give the dream a name. Ruby looked at her father. She put on a toothy grin and said the name of the band.

"Remnant," she said. It was a name Ruby came up with years ago, during our initial attempts at starting a band. It's a bit of a sad name though. Ruby got the idea from looking at her mother's urn. Coincidentally, it holds meaning for Blake and myself as well. It resonates with Blake because she's the last surviving member of her family, with both of her parents being killed by racist extremists. I'm a bit more metaphorical with my interpretation. I feel as if I'm what's left of my family's humanity, with my father and sister treating the Schnee name as a business card rather than a name. They are completely absorbed in the Schnee Paper Company, and that's why I left. I wanted to be my own person, to do something good with the Schnee name.

"Guys, that's an awesome name!" exclaimed Yang. Wait, did I just agree to be in a band with Yang? Oh no.

"I agree," said Taiyang. "Now as I said before, I can't sign you. But, if you guys can write a couple of original songs, and come up with a few covers, I can get you guys into the studio to make a demo. Now, this would be out of my pocket, because I love all of you guys. You guys can make physical copies to sell at any shows that you may want to play, but it would have to be available for free online.

"This is just to get your name out there. If you guys can get enough attention, I can show the demos to my boss, and see if you can get signed. But, you guys need to put forth the effort. I won't write songs for you, I'll help you mix and master, but I want you guys there for every step of the way. What do you guys think?"

"I'm in!" Ruby answered instantly.

"Sounds good to me," agreed Blake.

"Hell yeah, let's do this!" Yang exclaimed.

"Weiss?" Ruby asked me. I thought about it for a moment. In a full band with Ruby and Blake, it's a dream come true! But, Yang's along for the ride. _"You'll never have a chance to make a new friend if you're constantly hiding from her,_ " Ruby's voice echoed in my head. Yang is extremely talented, she's the drummer we've been looking for since we met Blake. Do I really want to throw my dreams away because of a petty grudge? That's so stupid.

I sighed. "I'm in," I said. The other three girls cheered, and Ruby bolted toward me for a hug. I hugged her back, in reality I was just as excited as she was. Blake walked over and hugged us too. The three of us have been dreaming of this moment for such a long time.

I looked up and saw Yang looking at the three of us, a smile on her face. Admittedly, my heart sank a bit. She was just as much a part of this as we were, and she looked so excluded. If I was going to be in a band with her, I needed to start really trying to warm up to her.

I made eye contact with her, and motioned her to join in the group hug. Her face lit up in excitement as she stepped out from behind her drum kit. I'm not going to lie, it was pretty cute. Yang came up and hugged us, completing the team.

This is it. This is where our journey begins. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang. That day, in that garage, we made history. That day, our family started. That day, we became Remnant.

* * *

 **Once again, thank you guys so much for reading! I was very excited for this chapter and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Remember to PM and review, your feedback means a ton to me!**


	6. Bonding

Chapter 6

Bonding

* * *

Yang

 _I got a secret!_

 _It's at the tip of my tongue_

 _it's on at the back of my lungs_

 _and-_

I groaned and turned off my alarm. I should change the song that plays when it goes off, I don't want one of my favorite songs to remind me of waking up. After a quick shower, I threw on some shorts and a tank top, ready to start my day, of doing nothing.

I grabbed my tablet and headed downstairs for some breakfast. As excited as I was to be in a band again, I wished that I had a job in the meantime, boredom was killing me! I sat at the breakfast bar with a glass of orange juice, waiting for my toast to pop. I fired up the Amazon app on my tablet, and started looking at bass pedals. When we played in the garage, I noticed that one of my pedals was broken, and had to compensate. If I was going to play in a band, I need all of my equipment to be working.

It was weird when I thought about it. I moved back to my dad's house to get back on my feet, my music career seemingly dead. I came back to start a regular life, get a boring job answering phone calls and emails. And now here I am, still in a band, and this time with Ruby! Maybe having a normal job just isn't in the cards for me. If that's the case, then I'm probably the luckiest person in the world.

As the toaster popped, I heard the front door open. I looked over to see Blake walking in.

"Hey, Yang," she said as she walked toward me.

"Hey, Blake," I said as I buttered my toast. "You're here early. The band meeting's not until later, and Ruby and Weiss are at Guitar Center."

"I know," she said as she sat across the bar from me. "I actually came to talk to you."

"To me?" I asked, curiously. "What about?"

"Well, we're in a band together now. Shouldn't we get to know each other a bit more?"

I liked Blake. We haven't talked much outside of small talk, but from what little we have I liked off the fact that she came to me with the sole purpose of learning about me, I could tell that we were going to become really good friends.

"We absolutely should," I said, leaning back in my chair. "Ask away!"

"Okay, what kind of music did your last band play?" she asked, a smirk on her face. It looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place it.

"Metalcore."

"Did you do unclean vocals for them, too?"

"No, our lead vocalist did uncleans. Our bassist did cleans and I did some backups."

"Interesting. Whe-"

"Up up up, my turn!" I say, smirking back at the Faunus. "How did you meet Ruby and Weiss?"

Blake's face turned somber for a split second, then she smiled warmly. "It's kind of a long story."

"I got nothing but time, Blake," I said, smiling back.

"Well, I used to live in Vacuo, Nevada. There's a lot of anti-Faunus beliefs there. My parents were killed by racist extremists when I was very little. My current guardian, Adam, took me in after that. When I learned about what happened to my parents, I started to wear a bow over my cat ears to hide the fact that I was a Faunus in school. I did this from Kindergarten to 8th grade.

"Then, Adam told me that we were moving to Vale. I knew that Texas was a much more progressive state in terms of racism, so when I enrolled into Signal High, I did so without hiding my heritage. I was excited to truly be myself around other people. But then, on the first day of school, some girls were harassing me because of my ears. I tried my best to ignore them, but they wouldn't leave me alone.

"Then two other girls came up. One of them started yelling at the other two. 'Don't you sluts have some jocks to be fucking? Get the hell out of here and leave her alone!'"

"I'm guessing that was Ruby," I said, proud of my little sister.

"That defended me? She was there, but the one that yelled at the girls was Weiss." She must've noticed my shocked expression. "That's what I thought too, once I found out who she was."

"Who she was?" I asked, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Do you know her last name?" I shook my head. "Her full name is Weiss Schnee."

"Schnee? As in the Schnee Paper Company?"

"That's right," Blake confirmed. "The Schnee company is famously anti-Faunus. The fact that a Schnee defended a Faunus was astounding to me."

"So wait," I said, even more confused now. "If Weiss is a Schnee, isn't she rich? Why is she living here and going to public school?"

"That's not for me to answer," she said, her smirk returning. "Besides, it's my turn."

"Damn you," I said, chuckling. "Hit me!"

"How old are you?"

"How dare you, Blake!" I exclaimed, doing my best Weiss impression. "Don't you know that it's rude to ask a woman's age!"

"Please! Forgive me, milady!" Blake said, sarcasm hitting like a ton of bricks.

"I'm 21," I finally answered, still laughing. "3 years older than Ruby."

"Okay, your turn."

I grinned, knowing exactly what to ask. Being here for over a month, I noticed that Blake came over a lot. While watching how Ruby and Blake interact with each other, I picked up on a few things.

"Is there something going on between you and Ruby?" I asked. I wish I could've captured a picture of her face, it was priceless!

"I-I umm, no, no there's n-nothing between me and her!" she stammered out. Checkmate.

"Oh my god there is! I see the way you look at her, you totally got the hots for her!"

"Okay okay okay, I like Ruby, happy?" she said, visibly upset.

"Blake, I think that's great," I said, throwing on a warm smile and grabbing her hand.

"The thing is, I don't know if she likes me back," she replied, eyes downcast.

"Well, talk to her!"

"What?" she said, looking up at me.

"How will you ever know if she likes you if you don't talk to her?" I explained. "I know Ruby, and the thing is, she doesn't always understand how she feels about something. She might like you back, but not realize it yet! If you talk to her, she might realize it and embrace it. So, I repeat, go talk to her!"

"Thanks, Yang," she said after a moment. "Is it my turn?"

"Blake, I already consider you a friend, and I learned a lot from this. We're going to be spending a lot of time together, so there'll be plenty of time to learn more about each other." I said as I walked up and gave her a hug. "And I couldn't be more excited."

Blake hesitated for a moment, but then hugged me back. "Me neither."

As if on cue, I heard the door open again, the distinct voices of Ruby and Weiss coming from the living room.

"I mean think about it Ruby," Weiss said. "Does spending the extra money on thicker strings actually affect the sound of your guitar?"

"Yes it does Weiss," Ruby said, and judging from her voice, Weiss was about to get a guitar lecture. "Strings with a heavier gauge are more suited toward heavier tuning. Can I use normal strings? I could, but as the tuning gets lower, the tone would start sounding muddy, because the strings are too loose. Strings like these-"

"I get it!" Weiss exclaimed, finally giving in. "More money means heavier music, that about right?"

"Yep!" Ruby said happily as the two walked in and noticed Blake and me. "Hey Blake! You're here early!"

"Yeah, I thought I'd talk to Yang for a while," Blake said flashing me a smile.

"Well, since we're all here, why don't we have this band meeting?" Ruby suggested.

"Sounds good to me!" I chimed in.

I returned to my seat, while Ruby and Weiss picked theirs.

"Alright! Welcome everybody to the first official meeting of Remnant! BANZAI!" Ruby yelled, throwing her arm up in the air.

"BANZAI!" the three of us yelled, Weiss shooting me a surprised look.

"How'd you know about banzai? she asked me.

"Remember Weiss, Ruby's my sister," I reasoned. "I was there when she came up with it."

Weiss's scowl returned, but she let the subject alone. She's been noticeably nicer since our impromptu practice, she can actually say things to me in a civil way. I wonder what changed?

"Alright guys, first order of business!" Ruby announced. "What kind of band are we?"

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked.

"What kind of music are we gonna play?"

"Well, what would work for us?" I asked.

"Well, Yang you were in a metalcore band before, right?" Blake asked. "Why don't we do that?"

"I don't really want to though," Weiss sighed. "It's too heavy too often. Can't we do something a little more melodic or upbeat?"

"Why don't we do both?" I suggested. "Weiss your favorite band is A Day to Remember, right?" She nodded. "Well, they're easycore, they do pop punk and metalcore together. Why can't we do that?"

"Good idea Yang!" Ruby exclaimed.

"It could work," Blake agreed.

"I guess that could be fun," Weiss said, smiling. Did she just agree to an idea of mine, and do it while SMILING? Is she sick? She must be sick.

"Also, we don't necessarily need to stick to one genre either," Blake pointed out.

"How about this then?" Ruby jumped in. "If we like it, we'll play it."

"That's a good rule of thumb," I said, the other two nodding in agreement.

"Awesome! Now, on to the next order of business!" Ruby said. "What songs are we going to cover?"

"Well, The Downfall of Us All is pretty much covered, right?" Weiss asked.

"I don't think we should put that on a demo," I said.

"Why not?" asked Blake.

"Because it's too easy," I reasoned. "That song is the same genre that we would play in. It doesn't show how talented we are. It shows that we can play songs that are already written and arranged for us.

"However, if we can pick a pop song, a song that a lot of people know, and arrange a cover to fit our sound, that will be much more effective. It shows our talent as musicians, and people will know the songs going in. We're going to be playing small shows early on, so being able to play songs that the audience knows will get us some cred," I explained.

"Yang's got a point," Ruby said. "Well, we're not going to come up with cover ideas right this instant. So let's focus on originals for a minute. We need at least 2 for the demo."

"Well, who are the best songwriters?" Weiss asked. "Don't you have lyrics for a song done already, Ruby?"

"Oh yeah, I do!" Ruby said, suddenly excited. "Blake, do you have anything?"

"Not that we could use," Blake answered.

"I might have something," I chimed in.

"You have a song?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah, I wrote it for my last band," I explained. "We couldn't get it to work with our sound, but maybe it could work with Remnant."

"Do you have it on you?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, here I'll send it to you," I said as I pulled out my phone. I kept it on the cloud, I didn't ever want to lose it, in case a situation like this came up. Good work past-me!

Ruby's phone pinged as she received the file. She opened it and mulled over the lyrics. After a moment of analyzing, a smile broke on her face.

"Blake, check this out!" she said as she handed Blake the phone. Blake raised her eyebrows at the lyrics.

"Yang, this isn't bad," Blake said. "We can definitely work with this."

"Thanks!" I replied, happy that they liked it.

"Alright guys, good first meeting!" Ruby said. "Blake, wanna go to the studio to talk to Dad about these songs?"

"Sure thing," Blake said. Ruby and Weiss might not have noticed it, but I did. I could see it in Blake's eyes, she was excited for some one-on-one time with Ruby. She looked at me, nervousness mixed in with the excitement. I winked at her, and she smiled and blushed a bit.

"Remnant, meeting adjourned!" Ruby yelled excitedly.

"You just wanted an excuse to use 'adjourned,' didn't you?" Weiss said, crossing her arms at Ruby.

"It's a good word…" Ruby said deflating.

And with that, Ruby and Blake headed to Beacon Records, Weiss went down to her room, and I was left alone, Weiss flooding my thoughts. There wasn't one jab, no malicious scowls at me, and she even agreed with me on something, happily at that! _Just talk to her,_ my own advice ringing in my ears. I need to talk to Weiss about this. Even if I can't get her to like me, it'd put my mind at ease knowing that she will at least be my friend. I just need to figure out what I'm going to say.

* * *

 **As always, thank you guys so much for reading. Next time we'll see what Yang has to say to Weiss! Remember to review and PM, feedback is very important!**


	7. Starting Over

Chapter 7

Starting Over

* * *

Weiss

"Ruby, if we can't make it work, then maybe we should scrap it," I told Ruby over the phone.

"I don't want to scrap it though, Weiss!" she whined. "Yang wrote a really good song, we just got to figure out what's off." We started tracking our demo a week ago, Ruby and Yang giving us a good head start by having two songs already written. It didn't take us long to figure out what songs we wanted to cover either, arranging them with just two practices.

"It's the vocals, Ruby," I said. "Yang and I just don't mesh in this one. Her screams don't work and my cleans don't sound good with the tone. It's a shame, the instrument tracks are awesome." We were having some troubles with the song that Yang wrote.

"Maybe the mix is bad. I'll talk to Dad, maybe he'll screw with it a bit more. I'll talk to you later, Weiss."

"See you at the studio later," I said, hanging up the phone. With Ruby and Blake at the studio all the time, I really only saw them at school, leaving me to sit bored at home. The only person at the house would be-

A knock on my door interrupted my thought process. What did she want? "It's open."

"Hey," Yang said, poking her head through the door. "Can we talk for a minute?" She didn't barge in, she wasn't being loud, and she didn't seem like her normal bubbly self. If anything, she seemed nervous. She wanted a serious talk.

"Sure," I sighed. "Come in." Yang sat down on the couch. "Talk about what?"

"I'm sorry," she said, after a pause.

"Sorry? About what, exactly?"

"I was rude to you when we first met," she explained, after another pause. "And I continued to do so afterward."

"What's your point?"

"We're in a band now, Weiss. We're going to be spending a lot of time together. And if there's any animosity between us, it's going to cause problems."

I hated to admit it, but she was absolutely right. If I held this petty grudge, it was going to become everyone's problem. I didn't want to do that to Ruby and Blake.

"So," Yang continued, "can we start over?" She stood up and walked toward me, her hand outstretched. "Pleasure to meet you, Weiss! I'm Yang, want to be friends?"

It was at that moment that I realized I couldn't hate her anymore. She was so nice, and caring, and she wanted to be my friend so bad. It reminded me of Ruby when we were little. The more I talked to Yang, the more I realized how much Ruby was modelled after her. Ruby looked up to Yang, and I could tell that Blake was going to be very good friends with the blonde. Why should I be the jerk of the group?

And truthfully, I was already trying to like the brute. I stopped hiding after Ruby talked to me about it, and then after Remnant was formed, I tried being more civil. Yang has shown me, in both practices and meetings, that she was very intelligent and experienced in the music industry. She impressed me with how much she knew, and talking to her became easier. But this apology and attempt at being my friend was the last nail in the coffin.

"Friends," I agreed, as I took her hand and smiled warmly. First impressions aside, I was actually happy to have made a new friend. The only real friends I've had in my life are Ruby and Blake, the others at school aren't nearly as close.

"Yes!" Yang exclaimed, throwing her fist in the air in excitement. Every day she acted more and more like Ruby, and yet she still had a different feel to her. When Ruby acted like this, it was usually amusing, and sometimes annoying. And with Yang, it almost felt cute.

"Now, I have a couple more questions," Yang continued.

"What would those be?" I asked, curious.

"How do you feel about the band State Champs?"

"They're very good," I answered. "They already have the perfect sound for that style of pop punk, not a lot of bands can do that with their first album."

"How would you like to go to a show with me on Friday?"

"I'd love to!" I said, excited. I haven't been to a concert in a long time. "Why me though? Wouldn't you rather take Ruby?"

"There's a few reasons," Yang replied. "I know the owner of the venue, and he gave me two tickets out of nowhere. I would take Ruby, but Blake had a plan to get her out of the house on Friday. Plus, it'd be a good way for you and I to get to know each other a little more!"

"Is a concert really the best place to talk and get to know each other?"

"No," Yang agreed, "but the drive to Austin is a pretty good one!"

Austin is a solid 90 minutes away, that's a lot of one-on-one time with Yang. The thought of that much time with her made my stomach feel strange, but I don't think it was in a bad way. I wasn't angry or disgusted, I might've even been nervous.

"True," I agreed. "Sounds like fun."

"Now," Yang said, "one more question." She looked at our Rock Band drum kit. "Wanna play Rock Band with me? It looks like Ruby got the Cymbal Expansion and I really want to try it."

I think I was really beginning to like Yang. About 10 minutes earlier, I would've said "Hell no" and kicked her out for even asking. But in that moment, there wasn't anything I would've rather done.

"Absolutely!" I said, always excited to play Rock Band. Yang beamed at me, and went to go set up the drum kit and a mic stand. "You're going to do vocals, too?"

"I do in real life," Yang reasoned. "Why wouldn't I do it here?"

"Fair point," I said as I turned on the Xbox. Yang synced up her drum kit and made sure the cymbals weren't loose. I couldn't blame her, Ruby usually did a shoddy job of putting things together.

"Alright, lead singer picks the song!" Yang said cheerfully. As I scrolled through the song list, one of them caught my eye.

"Yang, do you know Sic Transit Gloria?"

"I do, why?"

"Because we never get to play it. Blake gets too lost in the bassline to remember the lyrics, and we both know how Ruby does on vocals."

"Well, hit it!" Yang said. I mentally braced myself as the song started. One of two things was going to happen. Yang was going to scream her part of the verses, or she would try to sing. Knowing that she was related to Ruby and Taiyang, I didn't think Yang would be able to do clean vocals. With Yang being Yang though, of course I was proved wrong.

Weiss: Keep the noise low.

Yang(clean): She doesn't wanna blow it.

Weiss:Shaking head to toe

while your left hand does "the show me around."

Yang(clean): Quickens your heartbeat.

Weiss: It beats me straight into the ground.

You don't recover from a night like this.

Yang(clean): A victim, still lying in bed, completely motionless.

Weiss: A hand moves in the dark to a zipper.

Yang(clean: Hear a boy bracing tight against sheets

barely whisper,

Weiss: "This is so messed up."

Yang(clean): Upon arrival the guests had all stared.

Weiss: Dripping wet and clearly depressed,

he'd headed straight for the stairs.

Yang(clean): No longer cool, but a boy in a stitch,

Weiss: unprepared for a life full of lies and failing relationships.

Yang(clean): He keeps his hands low.

Weiss: He doesn't wanna blow it.

Yang(clean): He's wet from head to toe and

his eyes give her the up and the down.

Weiss: His stomach turns and he thinks of throwing up.

Yang(clean): But the body on the bed beckons forward

and he starts growing up.

Weiss: The fever, the focus.

The reasons that I had to believe you weren't too hard to sell.

Yang(unclean): Die young and save yourself.

Weiss: The tickle, the taste of...

It used to be the reason I breathed but now it's choking me up.

Yang(unclean): Die young and save yourself.

I was beyond shocked. Not only did she show that she can sing, but also can do it while drumming. This girl keeps destroying my expectations.

Weiss: She hits the lights.

Yang(clean): This doesn't seem quite fair.

Weiss: Despite everything he learned from his friends,

he doesn't feel so prepared.

Yang(clean): She's breathing quiet and smooth.

Weiss: He's gasping for air.

"This is the first and last time," he says.

Yang(clean): She fakes a smile and presses her hips into his.

Weiss: He keeps his hands pinned down at his sides.

Yang(clean): He's holding back from telling her

exactly what it really feels like.

Weiss: He is the lamb, she is the slaughter.

Yang(clean): She's moving way too fast and all he wanted was to hold her.

Weiss : Nothing that he tells her is really having an effect.

Yang(clean): He whispers that he loves her,

but she's probably only looking for se-

Weiss: So much more than he could ever give.

Yang(clean): A life free of lies and a meaningful relationship.

Weiss: He keeps his hands pinned down at his sides.

Yang(clean): He waits for it to end

and for the aching in his guts to subside.

Weiss: The fever, the focus.

The reasons that I had to believe you weren't too hard to sell.

Yang(unclean): Die young and save yourself.

Weiss: The tickle, the taste of...

It used to be the reason I breathed but now it's choking me up.

Yang(unclean): Die young and save yourself.

I didn't see it before, but now I understood what Taiyang meant, the day we formed Remnant. There is a certain chemistry between Yang and myself. Two very different voices from two very different worlds, and yet when they come together, they create something incredible. Watching Yang play her plastic drums with the same amount of energy that she puts into her real ones was nothing short of magical. I couldn't stop my face from growing into a grin as she played the bridge, and then sent shivers up my spine as she sang the pre-chorus.

Yang(clean): Up the stairs, the station where

the act becomes the art of growing up.

Weiss: The fever, the focus.

The reasons that I had to believe you weren't too hard to sell.

Yang(unclean): Die young and save yourself.

The tickle, the taste of...

It used to be the reason I breathed but now it's choking me up.

Yang(clean): Die young and save yourself.

"Alright, that was sick!" Yang exclaimed as the song ended.

"Yang, grab your jacket," I commanded as an idea formed in my head.

"What?" Yang asked, confusion plastered on her face. "Why?"

"We're heading over to the studio."

* * *

Yang

I don't know what had gotten into Weiss. We were having a really good time playing Rock Band, and now she has me sitting in her passenger seat, doing nothing but barking orders.

"Weiss, why are we heading to the studio?"

"Because, Yang," she answered, "we were having problems with one of the songs, and I thought of a solution while we were playing."

"But why are you dragging me along?"

"Because you're part of the solution!" she said as she parked outside Beacon Records.

"What does that mean!?" I yelled at her as she got out of the car. She ignored me and continued walking up to the studio. I groaned and caught up to her.

Weiss and I walked into the recording studio to meet Dad and a surprised Ruby and Blake. "Hey guys, what are you doing here?" Ruby asked.

"Yang," Weiss said, ignoring Ruby, "get in the booth."

"Why?" I asked, getting annoyed. "What's happening?"

"Taiyang, can you mute the lead vocal track on Can't Trust Anybody Now," Weiss said, ignoring me.

"WEISS!" I finally shouted, Weiss giving me her attention. "What the hell is going on?"

"Just get in the booth, and it will all make sense," Weiss calmly replied. I walked into the booth and looked at the setup.

"Weiss, this is for vocals," I said. "Don't we already have those done?"

"Yes," she answered, "but with the current vocal setup, the song sucks. I think you should do lead vocals on this one."

I was floored. Weiss has done almost a complete 180 today in terms of her opinion of me. This morning she wanted nothing to do with me, and now she's saying that I should do the lead vocals on a song.

"You sure about this,Weiss?" Blake asked.

"I am," Weiss answered.

"But you're the lead vocalist," Ruby reasoned.

"Why do I have to be?" Weiss replied. "If Yang can sing, I think we should let her. We have two vocalists, why wouldn't we use both to their strengths?"

"Strengths?" Blake asked. "You want her to scream the whole song?"

"No, she'll sing," Weiss clarified. "I heard Yang sing today. It's a lot more raw, there's more energy. I think her voice will suit the song better."

"Alright, Yang?" Dad asked. "You ready?"

"Yeah," I said. And with that, the instrumental and background vocal tracks kicked in. I put as much heart as I could into the singing. I needed to do the best that I could here, because Weiss thinks I can do great. I needed to prove her right.

After the song ended, I took of my headphones and looked at the others through the glass. "How was that?"

Ruby and Blake had their jaws on the floor. Dad looked pleasantly surprised. And Weiss, was smiling. She was right, and she knew it.

"Well Yang," Dad finally said. "That was perfect. We'll have to play around with the mix a bit more, but I think you just saved the song."

I smiled at Dad, then gave a thumbs up to Weiss, with her returning the gesture. I think this was the moment where Weiss and I really started to change our opinions of each other.


	8. Friday Night

Chapter 8

Friday Night

* * *

Blake

"Ruby?" I asked as I knocked on her door. Tonight was the night. Tonight I was going to open up to Ruby, and tell her how I really felt. I was going to take her to her favorite spot in Vale, and tell her there.

After a moment of silence, I knocked again. "Ruby, you got a sec?" Another moment passed without a response. I decided to try the knob and let myself in. "You weren't in school, and I thought we could-"

The sight of Ruby interrupted my thought. She was slumped over her desk, snoring away. I looked at the contents of the desk. Pages of lyrics and guitar tabs. As adorable as she is when she sleeps, I have plans, and she needs to wake up.

"Ruby, Ruby, it's time to wake up," I called to her as I shook her shoulder. She began to stir slowly, and soon her eyes fluttered open. She glanced around for a second, as if figuring out where she was. After a moment her eyes widened and she jumped.

"GAH! Blake, what time is it!?" she asked as she frantically darted around the room.

"Calm down, Ruby," I said as I stopped her. "It's four in the afternoon. School ended half-an-hour ago."

"WHAT?" Ruby said, shocked. "I missed school!?"

"Yeah, Taiyang called you in. I wouldn't say you missed anything though, not a lot happened."

"Is there any homework that I missed?"

"Not really, you can ask the teachers on Monday," I said as I looked back at her desk. "What time was it last you checked?"

"Before I conked out? Umm, 6:30 AM?"

"Oh my god," I sighed. "Take a shower and get dressed, I'm getting you out of the house."

"Okay, where are we going?"

"Don't worry about it," I told her with a smirk. And with that, Ruby ran off to the bathroom. As I had some time to kill, I decided to see what Weiss was doing. As I walked downstairs though, the Ice Queen was nowhere to be found. "Weiss, you down here?" I called out.

"Oh hey, Blake!" Weiss said as she poked her head out of her bathroom, hair still wet from her shower. "Could you come in here for a second? I need your opinion on something."

"What's up?" I asked as I walked into the room.

"So Yang and I are going to a concert tonight," she explained as she put her hair up in her typical side-pony, "and I don't know what to wear."

"You two are going to a concert?" I asked, confused.

"What's so weird about that?" she asked, confused by my confusion. "You know I like concerts."

"Sorry, allow me to rephrase that," I answered. " _You two_ are going to a concert?"

"I don't follow," she replied, clearly not amused by my snark.

"I was under the impression that you two didn't get along," I clarified.

"W-well," she stammered, caught off guard. "Y-yang and I talked as adults, and now have a new… respect for each other." She couldn't fool me.

"You have a crush," I deadpanned. Weiss's face turned as red as Ruby's favorite hoodie.

"E-excuse me!?" she exclaimed. "How could you even hypothesize-!?"

"This reaction is a pretty good clue," I interrupted, smirking at her. "The fact that your opinion of her changed on a dime was a bit of a red flag as well."

I'm good at reading people. I notice small changes in people's expressions and body language. I noticed things changing when Weiss dragged Yang to the studio. Weiss wasn't yelling at her or using a harsh tone, in fact it was a bit warm. That morning, I was sure that she still hated Yang. Seeing Weiss act that way toward Yang suddenly, and then putting her faith into the blonde to be able to sing her song well, I knew something was up. The fact that these two have plans on a Friday night was just confirmation. Not that I had a problem with it, they'd be a cute couple.

"Y-you have no idea what you're talking about!" Weiss exclaimed, clearly flustered.

"Well, Ruby and I have plans tonight," I said, putting an end to the conversation. I could poke at Weiss all I wanted, I wasn't going to get very far. "Wear something that will look nice, but you'd still be comfortable wearing in a crowd." And with that, I left the room wishing Weiss good luck.

* * *

Weiss

"I don't know how I deal with her sometimes," I muttered to myself as I got dressed. Blake had no idea what she was talking about. She thought I had a crush on Yang? That's absolutely ridiculous! All of the evidence of my so-called "crush" is just me being a decent human being. Just because I want to be friends with Yang, doesn't mean that I have a romantic interest in her. Now, would Yang like me more in the white shirt, or the blue one? The white might make me look washed out and I don't want Yang to- no STOP.

Annoyed at Blake and myself, I chose my blue blouse. I double checked my purse to make sure I had everything. Phone? Check. Keys? Check. Wallet? Check. Emergency supplies? Check. Everything seemed to be in order. I grabbed my purse and my jacket and headed upstairs to find Yang in the living room, waiting for me.

"Hey, Weiss!" Yang greeted me, Xiao Long smirk on her face. "That's a cute outfit!" She said as she looked me up and down.

"Th-thanks," I said, caught off guard by the compliment. My face feels hot, am I blushing? "Are we ready to go?"

"Sure are!" she replied, smirk turning into a grin. "Let's go! We got a bit of a drive to Austin."

"Do you need me to navigate or anything?" I asked as we walked out to Yang's car.

"Nah, I've played a ton of shows in Austin," she explained. "I know the way by heart."

The first few minutes of the drive were quiet, the only noise being Yang's phone on shuffle over the stereo. She had decent music taste, some of it was a bit too heavy for my taste, I never was a huge fan of metalcore. There were a couple of bands that I liked, but they were more on the melodic side.

"Okay Weiss," Yang said, breaking the silence as she got on the highway. "I have a proposition!"

"And what would that be?" I asked curiously.

"We play a game!" Yang said cheerfully.

"What game?"

"We take turns asking each other one question," Yang explained. "It's a good way to get to know each other and kill time!"

"And you're obligated to answer each one? Are there any rules to the questions?"

"Hmm," Yang pondered. "Blake and I didn't really set any when we did it, then she ended up telling me her life story, up until the point she met you guys."

"She told you that much? It took her forever to tell us that!"

"Maybe you guys made her more comfortable opening up to people."

"Or maybe she's got a thing for you," I teased.

"Nah, she's crushing on Ruby," Yang replied.

"WHAT!?" I yelled, scaring Yang with my sudden reaction.

"You mean you didn't know?" she asked.

"No! How would you know?" How could Yang know something about my best friends and I couldn't?

"Blake told me, after a bit of prying," Yang answered, winking. "I noticed how Blake looked at Ruby. It was different from when she'd look at me or you. Her voice also seemed warmer when talking to Ruby, and Ruby would always have her undivided attention. So that was one of my questions to her. She denied it at first, but I got it out of her."

"So they're on a date right now?"

"Not exactly," Yang continued. "Blake likes Ruby, but no one knows if Ruby likes Blake, Ruby herself might not even know it yet. Blake is probably going to have a heart-to-heart with Ruby tonight."

"Why wouldn't Ruby know it?"

"C'mon, you know how Ruby is. Her brain moves faster than even she can understand sometimes, she can't always process exactly what she's feeling."

"I guess," I conceded. Yang is very observant, like Blake in a way. "Do you want to ask first?"

"Okay!" Yang said enthusiastically. "Now, if you don't feel comfortable answering a question, you can veto."

"Sounds good," I agreed.

"Okay, Weiss! Are you from Vale originally?"

"No, I'm from Atlas, Wisconsin," I explained. "I moved to Vale when I was five."

"Alright, your turn," Yang said, smiling. I thought about it for a second.

"Okay, how long have you played drums?"

"Oh man, that's a tough one. Ummmm, well, I got interested in it when Dad got me a toy drum set for christmas when I was 4. I guess you could say that's when I started." Yang said cheerfully. She thought about her next question for a moment.

"Now remember, I'm asking this next question out of pure curiosity. This is nothing against you," Yang warned. What could she be so nervous about asking? "Why do you live with us?"

"Vet-" I stopped myself. "No, this is something I should talk about more."

"You don't have to, Weiss," Yang said apologetically.

"No, I want to," I replied. I took a deep breath before continuing. "I was born the heiress to a multi-billion dollar company. As such, I was on track to become a modern day princess, to keep up appearances for my father and the Schnee Paper Company. I was cold, judgemental, and conceited. Then, one day, my father moved the company headquarters to Vale, us along with it.

"My previous nanny elected to stay in Wisconsin, with her family. My father then hired a new one, but this one was different. Her name is Sarah, and she takes her job very seriously. Her job description was to take care of me, nothing less. She took that in stride, and acted more like a parent than my own father. She wanted the best for me, and knew that the path I was on wasn't that.

"She decided to put me in public school. She said that I needed the social aspect of it, I needed to make friends and be around people. That was where I met Ruby. As I spent time with her, she made me see that I needed to choose my own path, that I didn't have to be the person my father was trying to make me. Sarah was ecstatic when she saw me start to deviate.

"When I got older, I learned more about my father, and the company he wanted me to represent. I found out that he was just a terrible person, let alone a terrible father. He was racist, condescending, greedy, and controlling. When I turned 16, I told Sarah I was leaving, that I couldn't be around my so-called family anymore. She understood completely, and covered for me. I've been living with Ruby and Taiyang since."

"How is Sarah able to keep covering for you after so long?" Yang asked. I'm glad that she asked, I was worried that such a long story would have made her tune out.

"As it turns out, my father couldn't give a damn about seeing me. He merely asks Sarah for updates on me, that Sarah makes up. Not that it matters at this point, if he finds out now, all that will happen is Sarah will have to job hunt again, and she knows that. I'm 18 now, he has no control over my life anymore."

"Believe me, I know how that feels," Yang said, smirking at me.

"Thanks, cheater," I teased back.

"Cheater?" she asked, confused. "What do you mean?"

"You asked two questions," I said, smirking back.

"Oh shit, I did, didn't I?" Yang replied, earning a laugh from both of us.

The rest of the drive went on like this, Yang and I learning more and more about each other. It turns out our upbringings weren't dissimilar. Yang's mom was alcoholic and abusive, and got custody over Yang in a bullshit court case. She also left her mom as soon as she could. That explains why she never got to visit Ruby often, and why I never met her before she moved into Taiyang's place.

We laughed together at stupid stories about Ruby, and the more we talked, the more the conversation flowed. It felt so relieving, finally having a decent conversation with Yang. I don't think I stopped smiling for the rest of the ride to the concert.

* * *

Ruby

"Blake, where are we going?" I asked Blake as she drove me out of Vale.

"Someplace special," she answered, confusing me more. I looked out the window again to try and piece together where we were going. I noticed the road signs, and it all clicked into place.

"Are we going to Emerald Cliff?" I asked, suddenly excited.

"Possibly," Blake said, smirking. I loved Emerald Cliff. It was a cliff at the edge of the Emerald Forest, just outside of Vale. It gives you a great view of the city, especially at night. I wonder what brought Blake to bring me here tonight? As Blake parked, I got out of her car and ran to the cliff edge, excited to take in the view. After minute, I could feel Blake's presence behind me.

"Hey, Ruby?" Blake asked. There was a little shake in her voice, is she nervous about something?

"What's up, Blake?" I asked, turning to her and smiling. I hoped that my smile would put whatever was bothering her at ease, but all she did was blush and turn away a bit.

"I… I need to talk to you about something." Blake was usually quiet, but normally confident. Something must really be bugging her.

"Sure thing!" I cheered, hoping again to ease her anxiety. "What about?"

"It's… more of a confession, I guess."

"What's wrong? Did you do something?"

"No, no, uh, yes? I guess? I just-" she stammered. I don't think I've ever seen Blake like this. She took a deep breath and continued.

"Ruby, how long have we been friends now?"

"Would it be 4 years now?"

"That's right. And you of all people should know that when you spend a lot of time with someone, your perception of them can change."

"Weiss would be the prime example," I chuckled out. That seemed to relax Blake a bit, as she smiled and her shoulders deflated a bit.

"Right," Blake continued. "Well, over the last couple of years, my perception of you has changed."

"What do you mean?" I asked, now I'm starting to get a little nervous.

"Ruby, I," Blake said, visibly shaking now. "I… I love you."

Blake's eyes widened at her own words, and she visibly started to panic. I was stunned. But then I thought about it. I always did feel different around Blake. I felt warmer, calmer. I guess I never realized it until I thought about it. My body seemed to kick into auto-pilot, and I walked toward Blake automatically. Blake seemed to panic more as i got closer.

"Ruby, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything! I didn't mean to ruin our friendship or any-" My autopilot cut her off, the next thing I knew was that her lips were on mine. Blake squeaked a bit at the initial contact but then went along with it after a moment. After a few very long seconds, we finally broke apart.

"Blake, you know how I am. Well, thinking about it, my perception of you has also changed. I'm a lot happier around you, I feel like I don't ever want our moments together to end. I had to think about it to finally realize it, but I love you too Blake," I confessed. Blake smiled and kissed me again. "So, does that make us a thing?"

"I'd say so," Blake chuckled.

"Awesome!" I cheered, causing Blake to laugh. I hugged my new girlfriend, but then a question popped into my mind.

"So, what made you decide to talk to me about this?" I asked.

"Actually, your sister convinced me," Blake answered. I thought about it. I think Yang moving back in with Dad marked a new chapter in my life. I'm finally in a band that is finishing up their demo, and now I'm with Blake. I gotta remember to give Yang a huge hug later.

* * *

Yang

I really feel like I hit a new level with Weiss. She's been smiling since we started talking on the way to the concert.

"I wish they would've played Prepare to be Noticed, though," Weiss said.

"Honestly, if they played _The Finer Things_ in it's entirety I would've been happy," I responded. "But, they had a new album come out last year, they're gonna want to play new songs."

"I know," Weiss agreed. "It was still a great show though, thanks for taking me!"

"No problem," I replied. I had a crush on Weiss, that much I knew. But the one downside I did not see coming from this plan was Weiss being really pleasant, thus deepening my crush. Whenever she talked, my heart would flutter a bit, and I had a small heart attack every time she laughed. I had to keep it down though. We might be on good terms now, but it'd never work between us. I'd do something and she'd hate me again, I'd rather just be her friend.

"So you've played that venue before?" Weiss asked.

"Yes and no. We played in that building, but we were never big enough for the main stage. We've played in the bar a couple of times, and then the basement once. The basement was one of my favorite shows that we ever played."

"Maybe Remnant will play there sometime," Weiss said.

"Yeah, maybe," I said as I pulled into our driveway. It wouldn't be that hard to land a bar show there, I do know the owner. We should see how people like Remnant first, though.

"Hey Yang?' Weiss asked as we walked through the front door. "I have one more question."

"Hmm, what's that?" I asked, curious.

"What's that symbol on your drum kit?"

"You mean this one?" I asked as I lifted up my shirt, showing Weiss my Burning Heart tattooed on my stomach. Weiss's face turned beet-red for a second.

"Y-yeah." No one ever asked me about it, Weiss actually caught me off guard.

"Follow me," I said, motioning her to follow. I had to show her something. Weiss followed me up to my room. She probably hasn't seen it, so it'd be a good opportunity to show it to her now. I saw Weiss's eyes widen as I turned the light on, her taking in my Burning Heart emblem on most of my belongings, the biggest one on the wall.

"What does that symbol mean?" she asked, now extra curious.

"I designed it, it's my personal emblem. I use it kinda like my signature, and I put it on most of my valuables," I explained.

"But why?" Weiss asked, pure curiosity in her voice. I sat on my bed and continued.

"Personal belief. Names fade and change over time. But an emblem? That's eternal. I want my children to wear the Burning Heart with pride, and their children, and their children after them. It will be a symbol of my legacy, and become synonymous with the Xiao Long name. My literal mark on the world," I explained as Weiss sat down next to me.

"That's actually really deep," said Weiss. "What inspired this?"

"Actually it was the stories that I used to read to Ruby. Knights always had family crests, and I really liked that idea, so I wanted to do something like that. I don't know, you probably think it's dumb, ri-mmph!" Weiss cut me off by kissing me. My heart was racing a hundred miles a minute. After the initial shock, I kissed back. But sadly, Weiss seemed to catch herself and pull away.

"I-I, uh, umm, thanks for taking me to the show, goodnight!" she said as she fled the room.

"What the fuck just happened?"

* * *

 **Wow this was a hard chapter to write. And boy is it a long one, for me at least. Anyway, sorry for the long wait on this one, as I said, it was hard to write this one and a lot of distractions came up. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Also, dat Volume 3 finale, I wasn't anywhere near prepared for what happened there. This is going to be a brutal hiatus.**


	9. Processing

Chapter 9

Processing

* * *

Weiss

What the fuck did I just do?

I have been tossing and turning in bed for the last five hours, trying to wrap my head around what had happened. I kissed Yang! Why did I do that? Why couldn't I control myself? Was it her looks? That crazy, beautiful blonde hair? Was it the twinkle in her eye as she talked about her legacy? Or her kind, caring demeanor? How ironically similar we are? How she hangs on every word I say, and then has a thoughtful response to each one? And then I realized, Blake was wrong. I didn't have a crush.

I had fallen in love with Yang Xiao Long.

I groggily woke up and checked the time. 11 AM. Last time I saw was 6 AM. I guess five hours is better than nothing. Not wanting to waste any more of my Saturday, I forced myself out of bed to go get some breakfast. I heard voices coming from the breakfast bar as I made my way to the refrigerator, I didn't even register that they were from Ruby and Blake.

"So do you want to have Weiss sing that line or have Yang scream it?" Blake asked.

"Well what if Yang sang it?" Ruby replied.

"I don't think that would work, Yang's cleans aren't melodic enough, but the screams make the line sound aggressive."

"I don't know, it's your call, babe," Ruby replied. "Morning Weiss! You're up late."

"Mmh," was all I could get out as I started digging through the freezer. Waffles? No. Breakfast sandwiches? No. How about some- wait what was that? "BABE?" Ruby and Blake flinched at my sudden outburst.

"What?" Ruby asked, scared a little.

"Did you just call her babe?!" I asked, trying to make heads-or-tails of the situation in my groggy state.

"Huh?" Ruby asked again, still confused, before it clicked. "Oh! Right, you don't know yet! Blake and I are dating now!" she explained as she grabbed Blake's hand.

"When the hell did this happen?" I asked, a bit shocked by the sudden news.

"Last night, while you and Yang were at the concert," Blake explained.

"What about me?" Yang said sleepily as she walked in. She must've been up all night, too. "And what's with all the shouting?"

"Those two are a thing now!" I said, pointing at the new couple.

"Really? See Blake? What'd I tell ya?" Yang said, grinning a bit.

"That reminds me!" Ruby exclaimed, jumping out of her seat and running to hug her sister. "Thanks for helping, sis!"

"Ruby, what's the rule?" Yang said, a little annoyed.

"Not until you've had your waffles?"

"Not until I've had my waffles," Yang confirmed, Ruby letting her go. Yang then smiled warmly and ruffled Ruby's hair. "And you're welcome!" I felt my heart skip a beat at seeing Yang's smile. Just how smitten am I?

"So how was the concert?" Blake asked, smirking at me. I glared at her, then looked to Yang, who was already looking at me questioningly. I motioned toward Blake with my eyes, praying that Yang would get the message. I absolutely did not want to talk about last night's events in front of Ruby and Blake. Thankfully, Yang understood.

"It was a lot of fun!" Yang answered.

"Setlist could've been a bit better…" I chimed in.

"Weiss, it was one song that you wanted to hear. It's not like it ruined the concert!" Yang answered, smirking at me.

"They were really good," I agreed.

"Who did you guys see, again?" Ruby asked.

"State Champs," Yang answered.

"WHAT?" Ruby wailed. "You guys went and saw State Champs without me!?"

"I only had two tickets!" Yang defended. "Besides, Blake had plans for you, and that seem to work more in your favor anyway!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Ruby relented, realizing that what she got was better than a concert.

"C'mon Ruby," Blake said, standing up. "We gotta get to the studio soon, and the sooner we go, the sooner we can finish mastering."

"Yeah, you're right, we'll see you guys later!" Ruby said as she followed Blake out. That just left me and Yang for the rest of the day. Great.

"Soooo…" Yang said, breaking the silence after the door closed.

"We have to talk about last night, don't we?" I sighed.

"We don't right now if you don't want to, but we should at some point." Always so nice. She knows that I'd be uncomfortable, so she's giving me an out. She deserves better than me.

"There's no point sitting on it, I guess." Yang sat down at the breakfast bar, and motioned for me to sit across from her.

"So, what exactly was that?" she asked as I sat down.

"I don't know," I admitted, deflating a bit. "I just lost control of myself, I guess. You were talking about your emblem and, my body just did it."

"I see," Yang said, thinking about it.

"It wasn't stupid, by the way," I admitted.

"Huh?" she asked, confused?

"Before I interrupted you, you were saying that I probably thought that your emblem was stupid. It's not, In fact, I really like the idea."

"Oh, I thought you meant the kiss at first," Yang chuckled.

"Well, that wasn't bad either," I teased.

"Is there something here, Weiss?" Yang asked, getting serious again. "Between you and me?"

"Well, I like you a lot, Yang," I admitted, there was no point in lying to myself anymore. "I think I have since the day we met, but I became cold after your first impression. I never wanted that. I was so excited when we made up last week."

"Me too," Yang replied. "I may have had a crush on you for a while now…" she admitted, blushing. How does she get cuter every time I talk to her?

"Really?" was all I could manage to say, as I was trying to process everything that was happening.

"Yeah," she confirmed, eyes glued to the table. "So, where do we go from here?"

I thought about it for a little bit. There is definitely a mutual attraction here, we both said as much. But would Yang and I work out? She's fiery and free-spirited, and I'm cold and judgemental. I know people say that opposites attract, but Yang and I just seem incompatible. I'd just hold her back, I wouldn't be any good for her. But, then again, this is all conjecture. I really can't know if it will work out if I don't try.

"Do you want to try dating?" I asked Yang.

"Yes," Yang answered, almost immediately. She caught herself and blushed more. I couldn't help but laugh, which only caused her to blush more.

"Well, then that's settled, isn't it?" I said, composing myself. "We're dating?" I asked, extending my hand, mimicking Yang from when we made up. Yang caught on, and took my hand.

"Dating," she confirmed with a massive grin. I smiled back at her, but then we descended into silence. "Sooooo, what now?"

Giggling at her sudden awkwardness, which was eerily similar to her sister's, I stood up and stretched. "I don't know about you, but I'm due for a shower. We can figure out what to do after, okay?"

"Yeah, sounds good," Yang said, her Xiao Long smirk returning. I kissed the top of her head as I walked past, for good measure. I then headed down to my bathroom, still trying to process everything that had just transpired.

* * *

Yang

I don't think I've ever been this happy. I mean, generally I'm a happy person, but I've never felt so elated! Less than a week ago, the girl that I had a crush on couldn't stand me. And today, I not only find out that she had a crush on me, too, but we're dating now! I finished brushing my hair and headed downstairs, to find Weiss on the couch, browsing on her phone.

"Oh hey, so, I've been thinking," she said.

"What's up?" I asked as I plopped on the couch next to her.

"I think we should keep quiet about this, for a while at least," Weiss explained.

"Why do you think that?" I asked, a little worried.

"A few reasons. For one, Ruby is gonna flip her shit. And two, Blake already sort of suspects us, and the last thing I want is to see her 'I told you so' face for God knows how long. And three, I could see your dad being weird about it."

"Why would Dad be weird about it?"

"Because we live together. I know your dad is really cool and laid-back, but you're still his daughter. If he's not uncomfortable about it, it'll be endless jokes."

"Yeah, it would," I said. I always forget how long Weiss has been around Ruby and Dad, she probably knows them as well as I do.

"The fourth reason is that I just don't want all of the attention right now. I don't want people to make a big deal out of it, and then we end up breaking up a week later," Weiss explained. As much as I hated thinking about the possibility of breaking up this early, she was right.

"Alright, Princess, I'll keep quiet for a while," I conceded.

"Princess, huh?" Weiss asked. "We're doing pet names already?"

"If you can call that a pet name," I said, stretching my arms above my head. "Believe me, I've heard some bad pet names." I put my arms down, my left one draping on the back of the couch around Weiss. She noticed and broke into a smirk.

"Did you really just do the 'reach-around?'" she teased. It took me a moment to process what I did.

"Oh shit! Guess I did," I said, laughing. Weiss giggled at me, before leaning into my shoulder.

"Brute," she mumbled, smiling. Remember how I said before that I had never been happier? I'm even happier now than when I said that. Having Weiss lean on me like this was the most comforting thing I had ever experienced. In that moment, everything was perfect, the world could have ended and I wouldn't care.

"So, what do you want to do?" Weiss asked, as she looked up at me.

"Well, want to go get some food or something? We could do some brunch," I suggested.

"No, I'm too tired to go out," she sighed.

"Shouldn't we go out on a date if we're dating?" I teased. Weiss thought about it for a moment.

"Want to just count the concert as our first date?" she asked. "It was our first time exclusively spent with each other, and it led to this."

"True," I agreed. "Well, you got any ideas? Cuddling is great, but it's not really an all-day activity." Weiss thought for a moment, before a mischievous grin broke out on her face.

'Who's better at Mario Kart?" she asked. "You or Ruby?"

"Me, by far," I answered. "I'm the one that taught Ruby."

"I bet I can beat you," she challenged.

"Okay, what's the bet?" I say, smirking.

"Loser pays for the next date?"

"You're on!" I accept. Weiss got up and headed down to her room, with me in tow. She tossed me a controller and turned on her Wii U.

"Why am I not surprised that you'd pick Princess Peach?" Weiss asked as we picked our characters.

"Hey, we blondes gotta stick together!" I answered. "Why are you picking Toad?"

"Are you kidding? He's adorable!"

"Right, someone who constantly yells _I'M TOAD_ is adorable," I teased, causing Weiss to laugh at my impression. I actually love Toad, I just felt like teasing.

"You can pick the track," she offered.

"I can? In that case, we're going where shit gets settled!" I said as I selected Rainbow Road.

"You're on!" Weiss shouted. Man, she's competitive.

The track loaded, with Peach and Toad on the starting line. The countdown started, and we both began revving our engines. When the light turned green , the two character took off, Weiss and I both nailing the starting boost. Weiss pulled ahead, sticking tight to the corners and drifting for boosts. The first item boxes came up, both of us grabbing one.

 _Yes! A red shell!_ I threw my shell, and it began homing in on Weiss. She was smart though, dropping a banana behind her to cancel out the shell. Weiss kept her lead on me through the first lap, with me coming right up on her. We grabbed the item boxes again, and I got a mushroom. _Alright, now i just need to get up behind her and-_

It seems that Weiss got three green shells, as one flew back toward me, hitting me and making me spin out, while two more orbited around her. I used my mushroom to get going again, boosting up behind her. Weiss threw the other two shells at me. I dodged the first one without a problem, but dodging the second one threw me off of the track. That dude with the cloud dropped me back on the track, and I got going. Weiss was now half-a-lap ahead of me. I grabbed an item block, and got a blue shell.

 _I need to save this, this'll be my trump card._ I stuck close to the corners and drifted whenever possible, I needed every boost I could get. Halfway through the third lap, I got Weiss back into my view. _Okay, now I just need to wait until she gets close to the finish line, then I'll hit her with a blue surprise._ Another few seconds trailing behind her, the finish line came in sight _Now!_

I threw the blue shell, which then shot toward Weiss. She slammed on her breaks, stopping her kart. I couldn't register what happened, and kept driving toward Weiss. The blue shell connected with Weiss, and since I drove so close, I also got caught in the explosion. Since we both spun out, we got going at the same time, with Weiss still ahead of me. That was it. I was out of weapons, weiss was already ahead of me, and I couldn't boost. Weiss crossed the finish line, claiming her victory.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, jumping up in excitement. "I can't wait to tell Ruby that I beat you!" I wanted to be upset that I lost, but seeing her this excited was too cute to be mad at. She sat down next to me and nudged me. "Looks like you're paying for the next date."

"Yeah yeah, I got it," I said nudging her back. She then tilted my chin toward her and kissed me. I was surprised, since I still wasn't used to it.

"That was fun though," she said. "I think Ruby might have gotten better than you though, I still have trouble beating her."

"Really?" I asked. "Well then, I'll have to see who's better when she gets back then!"

"Guess I'm not the only competitive one," Weiss said as she rested her head on my shoulder.

"Any movies you haven't seen yet?" I asked, trying to figure out what to do next.

"There's a few, want to browse for a bit?"

"Sure!" We spent the rest of the day watching movies in Weiss's room, with no small amount of cuddling. It was bliss. Weiss was honestly a very pleasant person to just be around, when she didn't act so cold. I honestly wish I could've just fallen asleep with her there, but I got a phone call that night. And I couldn't have been more excited to see who it was.

* * *

 **Who was phone, Yang? Thank you guys so much for reading, I know it took a while to get this one out, but I had another idea for a fic and just had to get it started. It's called Simpler Times, and follows Team STRQ's adventures during their time at Beacon. If you like the idea (or me, either works :) ) you should go check it out! See you next time!**


	10. Best Kept Secrets?

Chapter 10

Best Kept Secrets?

* * *

Blake

"So what do you think actually happened with Weiss and Yang last night?" Ruby asked, as she was driving us back to her house from the studio.

"What do you mean?" I asked her, curious.

"C'mon, Blake, you're good at reading people!" Ruby reasoned. "You know as well as I do that they didn't tell us everything." I looked at my girlfriend, somewhat proud of her observations.

"You saw Weiss look at Yang too?" I asked her.

"That, and I know when Weiss is hiding something," Ruby explained. "You memorize people's mannerisms when you know them for 13 years, and Weiss is definitely not acting like herself around Yang."

"Yeah, you're right," I agreed. Weiss seemed to glow around Yang, ever since they became friends last week. I called her on it, and of course she denied it, but judging from their actions this morning, something definitely happened last night.

"And did you see how exhausted they both were?" Ruby asked. "I wouldn't think twice about it if it was just Yang, but Weiss is never that zombie-like! "

"Well, they both came out of their respective rooms, so I don't think they slept together," I reasoned, noticing Ruby shudder at the thought of her sister and best friend hooking up. "Something definitely happened though, something that would cause both of them to lose a lot of sleep."

"I guess we'll find out soon enough," Ruby said as she pulled into the driveway. Not long after we walked through the front door, Yang bolted up from Weiss's room, looking much more alive than when we left her.

"Ruby! Blake! Band meeting! Now!" she said as she bolted for the table, Weiss coming up not far behind her. The four of us all took our spots around the table, Ruby and I on one side, Weiss and Yang on the other.

"So, what's up Yang?" Ruby asked, somewhat concerned over what Yang was so fired up about.

"How are we looking on our demo?" Yang asked, growing serious. Her face lit up though, as I held up a flash drive.

"It's all done," I explained. "Taiyang said he'd get us boxes of cd's and jewel cases to make physical copies to sell at shows."

"Yes!" she exclaimed, punching her fist in the air. "Then do I have some good news for you two!"

"Enough with the damn suspense, Yang!" Ruby shouted, eager to know what was going on.

"We got our first gig!" Yang finally proclaimed.

"What? Where? When? How?" Ruby spilled out, bouncing in her seat.

"I know the owner of a bar in downtown Vale!" Yang explained. "My old band used to play there all the time when we were first starting. I told him I was working on a new project, and asked if he'd be willing to let us play. He called me today, while you guys were gone, and told me that we could play next Friday!"

"Oh my god!" Ruby squealed. "What do we play? What do we wear? What instruments do we bring? Hold on!" She darted out of the room. I looked at Weiss and Yang, earning shrugs from both of them. Not a moment later, Ruby ran back in with an oversized whiteboard, and a graduation cap?

"Ruby, why do you have your graduation cap already?" I asked her.

"Fuck the cap, I wanna know where she got that whiteboard! I don't think we had that before!" Yang said.

"Neither of those questions are relevant at the moment!" Ruby yelled, slapping the board with, Christ is that a riding crop? I don't even want to know where that came from. "We got preparations to make!

"Now Yang!" Ruby said as she wrote her sister's name on the board. "You don't work or go to school, so you'll need to burn our demo to the cd's over the week!"

"Yes… ma'am?" Yang said, seeming confused by what was happening, and a little hurt by Ruby's reasoning.

"Blake!" Ruby shouted, finishing up Yang's list on the board. "You're the best artist, and we need cover art for the cases! No one will take us seriously if it's just a CD-R in a jewel case!"

"Right," I agreed, Ruby scribbling my job on the board.

"And Weiss!" Ruby said, turning her attention to the heiress. "We need an online presence! We need a Bandcamp for the demo, we need Twitter! Facebook! YouTube! Instagram if you feel like it!" she said as she wrote each one on the board.

"Okay," Weiss agreed. Ruby finished writing and turned back to the group.

"Next order of business, setlist!" she cheered. "What kind of crowd are we expecting, Yang?"

"Well, it's a college bar," Yang explained. "So a lot of the crowd is going to be around my age. Any Top 40's songs from the last 20 years should go over well, as long as we can play them."

"What songs can't we play?" I asked.

"We only have a week to prepare," Weiss chimed in. "Outside of the covers that we already have, any songs that would require a lot of rearranging probably wouldn't work."

"Alright, stick to simple covers," Ruby said as she wrote it on the board.

"None of us can rap," Weiss continued, "so no songs with a-"

"I can rap," Yang interrupted.

"Is there anything you can't do?" Weiss asked. There was a tinge of annoyance in her voice, but she still wore that warm smile at Yang.

"She can't play along with a click-track," I snarked, not wasting an opportunity to tease Yang.

"Hey, you were the one that got the BPM wrong!" Yang defended.

"She played too fast," I told Weiss, making the heiress giggle.

"Guys, focus!" Ruby yelled, regaining our attention. "We need songs!"

"Well we already have five from our demo," I said. "Maybe just five more for a 10-song set?"

"That's a good length," Yang agreed. "And if we're keeping it simple, there's plenty of pop punk that we could play that the crowd would know."

"We just gotta make it a little heavier to fit our style!" Ruby said. "Easy enough!"

"Don't forget Yang," Weiss interjected. "She needs to have vocal parts, too."

"Okay, so songs that have or can have multiple vocal parts," Ruby jotted down.

"Fat Lip by Sum 41?" Yang suggested. "It's relatively heavy, well known, and we can all have a vocal part in it."

"That one could be fun," I agreed.

"I agree," said Weiss.

"Alright, we got one!" Ruby cheered, jotting it down. "What else?"

"Fall Out Boy could be a safe bet," I suggested.

"What song?" Ruby asked.

"Is Sugar, We're Going Down too cliché?" Weiss asked.

"How about Dance, Dance?" I suggested. I honestly didn't care which song we played, I just loved that bassline.

"Oooh, I'm down!" Yang agreed, no doubt a fan of the iconic drumbeat.

"Okay, that's two!" Ruby said. "Three more!"

"Paramore?" Weiss suggested.

"Misery Business would be sick," Yang said.

"Three down!" Ruby cheered.

"The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus was pretty big," I said.

"Face Down works!" Ruby said, writing. "One more!"

"Dammit," Yang sighed, out of ideas. After a moment, we all looked at each other.

"Dammit!" we all shouted in unison, Ruby writing the iconic song on the board.

"Alright guys!" Ruby said. "We have 10 songs for next week, so now we gotta hammer 'em out! Blake, you come with me to get our guitars! Weiss and Yang, you guys head to the garage and make sure everything is set up! Banzai!"

"Banzai!" The three of us cheered, and we split up. I followed Ruby into her room, where our guitars and basses are kept. As I walked in however, Ruby closed the door behind me.

"Did you see them?" Ruby asked me with a large grin on her face.

"I did," I answered.

"They're totally a thing!" Ruby said, bouncing in place. "I've never seen Weiss look at anyone like that, ever!"

"They couldn't keep their eyes off of each other, either," I added.

"Wonder when they're going to tell us," Ruby said as she grabbed her guitar.

"I don't think they will, anytime soon at least," I said, grabbing my bass. "You know Weiss. I may have teased her a bit about her crush on Yang, she's probably hiding it from me to prove a point."

"With the way they're acting, I don't think they could hide it for long," Ruby said giggling. "Got everything? Let's go!"

"Hold up," I said, grabbing her arm before she walked out. "What's the story with the riding crop?"

* * *

Weiss

"Hey Weiss?" Yang said from behind her drum kit. "Can we talk about something quick?"

"Of course," I said, walking over to her. "What's wrong?"

"I think we should tell them," Yang said in a low voice.

"Absolutely not," I answered quickly.

"Ruby's my sister and your best friend, she and Blake have a right to know," she argued.

"I can't let Blake be right though!" I hissed.

"It's not a fucking competition!" she shot back. "Do you have something against Blake?"

"Of course not! She's my friend!" Honestly I don't know why I was so hung up on this, just the thought of seeing Blake's smirk though, infuriated me.

"Then what's the problem? They need to learn eventually!"

"And they will, when the time is right."

"Meaning when the time is right for you?"

"That's right!" I said, scowling.

"Are you guys seriously fighting after only one day together?" Ruby asked from the doorway, causing me to shriek from being startled.

"What- when- where- You _knew!?_ " I stammered out.

"We weren't completely sure," Blake answered. "Not until a minute ago, where you two confirmed it." She heard that? But we were whispering!

"How did you-" Blake interrupted me by pointing to her cat ears. "Dammit."

"We're happy for you guys!" Ruby cheered. "I always thought you two would be cute together!"

"Aww, thanks Rubes!" Yang said.

"Can we just practice already?" I said, my face burning up. The others got all set up, Ruby and Blake turning on their amps and double checking their tuning.

"Alright guys!" Ruby cheered. "Let's start with Fat Lip!" We all nodded in agreement.

"And Weiss, one more thing," Blake said as Ruby played the opening riff. I looked at her curiously. "Told you so."

"You fucking Faunus cu-" Yang and Blake's parts cut me off as the song began. Yang wailed on the drums while Ruby danced around her small space. We all took our spaces next to our mics, preparing for the first verse.

Yang(clean): Storming through the party like my name was El Niño

Ruby: When I'm hangin' out drinking in the back of an El Camino

Blake: As a kid, I was a skid

Ruby: and no one knew me by name.

Yang(clean): I trashed my own house party

All: cause nobody came.

Weiss: I know I'm not the one you thought you knew back in high school

Never going, never showing up when we had to.

attention that we crave don't tell us to behave,

I'm sick of always hearing act your age.

I don't want to waste my time

become another casualty of society.

I'll never fall in line

Become another victim of your conformity

And back down.

I looked at Yang. She gave me a wink, assuring me that it sounded good. I smiled and winked back, telling her the same. This song is going to sound great during the show.

Weiss: Be-

Yang(clean): cause

Ruby: you

Blake: don't

Yang(clean): Know us at all we laugh when old people fall.

Blake: But what would you expect with a conscience so small?

Yang(clean): Heavy metal

Ruby: and mullets

Yang(clean): it's how we were raised.

Maiden

Ruby: and Priest

Yang(clean): were the gods that we praised

Weiss: Cause we like having fun at other peoples expense and,

Cutting people down is just a minor offence then,

It's none of your concern, I guess I'll never learn.

I'm sick of being told to wait my turn.

I don't want to waste my time

become another casualty of society.

I'll never fall in line

Become another victim of your conformity

And back down.

Don't count on me, to let you know when.

Don't count on me, I'll do it again.

Don't count on me, it's the point you're missing.

Don't count on me, cause I'm not listening.

Yang(clean): Well I'm a no goodnick lower middle class brat,

Ruby: Back packed

Blake: and I don't give a shit about nothing.

Yang(clean): You be standing in the corner talking all that kufuffin.

Blake: But you don't make sense from all the gas you be huffing.

Yang(clean): Then if the egg don't stain

Ruby: you'll be ringing off the hook,

Blake: You're on the hit list wanted

Yang(clean): in the telephone book.

I like songs with distortion,

Ruby: to drink in proportion.

Yang(clean): The doctor said my mom should have had an abortion.

Weiss: I don't want to waste my time

become another casualty of society.

I'll never fall in line

Become another victim of your conformity

And back down.

Yang(clean): Waste my time with them

Weiss: Casualty of society.

Yang(clean): Waste my time again,

Weiss: Victim of your conformity

And back down.

The girls played out the rest of the song, all of us with huge grins on our faces. I loved practice. I liked the atmosphere that it had, like it was just the four of us hanging out and playing music together, while we were also getting better for shows. It was just fun, with my my two best friends and my now-girlfriend. No, my family.\

"Woo!" Yang yelled after the song finished. "That one sounds good to go!"

"That's right!" Ruby cheered. "Alright guys, next one!"

* * *

 **That's such a good song. As always, thank you guys so much for reading! I'm really glad that you guys are enjoying the story! If you haven't yet, you should check out My other story, Simpler Times! I think I'm generally going to be alternating between the two, writing a chapter for one, then the other, and so forth. So anyway, see you guys next time!**


	11. First Show

Chapter 11

First Show

* * *

Weiss

" _Weeeeiiiiiissss, I'm boooooooreeeed,"_ Yang's text whined.

" _Find something else to do then,"_ I replied.

" _I don't have time to do anything else, I gotta burn 1000 cds."_

" _Can you multitask?"_

" _Weiss, I drum and sing."_

" _You know what I meant."_

" _Not while doing this, they burn too fast for me to do anything meaningful before swapping, but burn too long to just look at the progress bar. I can only browse reddit for so long!"_

" _Well what am I supposed to do about it from school?"_ I replied, getting a little annoyed.

" _NOTHING, I JUST WANT TO BE HEARD"_ I giggled at my girlfriend's antics, gaining the attention of my friends around the lunch table.

"Good to know Yang is more interesting than us, Weiss," Ruby joked.

"Hey, I don't have the luxury of seeing my girlfriend all day like you all do," I argued.

"God it's weird to hear you say that," Jaune chimed in.

"What do you mean?" Blake asked.

"For all of you, actually," Pyrrha interjected. "You three have always been the single ones of the group."

"Easy for you two to say!" Ruby objected. "You've been together since 8th grade!"

Jaune and Pyrrha are the most unlikely, yet the best couple in the school. Jaune is clutzy, dorky, and very spaztic. If I didn't know either of them, I'd say he and Ruby would be cute together. Pyrrha, on the other hand, is Signal High's Track and Field star. She's the State Champion in 5 events! She's won in 100m, 400m, and High Jump, and she's set records in Javelin Toss and Skeet Shooting. And on top of that, she's the perfect student. She's had 4.0 GPA her entire school career.

"Has it really been that long? It feels like longer," Jaune said, turning to Pyrrha. There's no reason they should be together, and yet they're perfect together.

"What are we talking about?" Asked Nora as she and Ren sat down with their lunches. The entire school wants these two together. They're not officially together, but their entire existence is sexual tension. They grew up together, so neither of them want to act on any feelings they have for each other. Neither of them know the other's feelings, but everyone else knows it's mutual. They're not very good at masking it from others.

"How it's weird that the three of us have girlfriends now," Ruby answered.

"WHAT?" Nora yelled. I didn't mind Nora, I'm not fond of her volume though. She's even louder and more hyperactive than Ruby. "First I've heard of it! Who are the lucky girls?"

"Well, it's Blake and me," Ruby said as she wrapped her arm around Blake, who smiled in affirmation. "And Weiss is dating my older sister, Yang!"

"Ooooooooh, Weiss," Nora said, grinning at me. "Like older women, do we?"

"Why'd you have to tell Nora?" I sighed as I buried my head in my hands. "I said I didn't want to make a big deal out of this." Nora squeaked and covered her mouth with her hands before apologizing.

"I'm so sorry Weiss!" Nora apologized. "I'll leave it!" That's why I liked Nora, she's very sweet and understanding.

"Thanks, Nora. I'll assume I don't need to worry about you fussing about it, Ren," I said, looking at the man, who simply nodded. Ren is very quiet, even more so than Blake. He really only talks when the conversation is pertinent to him or he has something important to say.

"Know what we should make a big deal of, now that we're all here?" Ruby asked the group, gaining all of our attention. "We have our first show on Friday!" They all looked surprised and excited.

"Okay, where and when?" Jaune asked excitedly.

"It's at Junior's Pub, downtown, at 10:00 Friday night," Blake answered.

"But, that's a bar," Pyrrha pointed out. "How are you going to get in if you're only 17, Blake?"

"Well, of course Adam's going to my first show," Blake answered, seemingly hurt by the reminder that she was the youngest of all of us. "He can get me in." Ruby rubbed her back to comfort her.

"We actually had a proposition for you, Jaune," I said, turning to the blonde boy.

"What do you need?" he asked.

"Since you're in the AV club," Ruby explained, "we were wondering if you'd run the mixer during the show. Weiss could do it from her keyboard, but we want to make the show as easy on us as possible."

"Sure thing!" he agreed, and I was suddenly grateful that he was such a dork.

"Great!" Ruby cheered. "So, can the rest of you guys come? It'd mean a lot to us!"

The other three all happily agreed, making Ruby bounce in her seat. Talking about the upcoming show reminded me to check on Yang, and I pulled out my phone to find a new text.

" _100 down, 900 to go"_

" _You know you have until Friday, right? You don't have to do them all today"_

" _...shit"_

" _And really, I don't think we'll need 1000 copies for our first few shows"_

" _I don't wanna talk about it anymore"_

" _Were you seriously going to do 1000 copies today?"_

" _Can't talk, bashing head into wall out of sheer stupidity, see you when you get home"_

* * *

Yang

"How about this, kid?" I said into my headset. "The moment you outfrag me, I'll start taking you seriously." As much as I loved Counter Strike, I couldn't stand how some of the player base behaved. This kid on my team kept giving me shit just because I'm a girl. It didn't really bother me though, since I had the most kills on the team, and he had 3. "There's 3 on A Site by the way."

I looked at my mini-map to see my teammates heading toward the bomb-site. I had already killed two members of the Terrorist Team, and the kid who was heckling me got killed by those two. I sat behind a corner, waiting for the rest of my team to catch up so we could storm the site together.

"They're planting," I said as I heard the telltale tone of the bomb being planted. "I think I hear one on catwalk."

"I'll go cat then," one of my team said, heading toward the catwalk. The other two came up behind me.

"Okay, I'm going to flash over. Yellow, you got AWP?" another asked.

"Got it," I said, pulling out my sniper rifle.

"Okay, sit in CT and snipe from there. Everyone else, I'm going to flash and we push at 45 seconds," the second member called. The four of us waited, watching the timer at the top of our HUDs. When the timer hit 45 seconds, the second team member threw a flashbang at the site, effectively blinding the members of the enemy team.

The other three pushed out of their spots, rushing the bomb-site. The first member killed the Terrorist that was sitting on the catwalk, while the second member was killed by a Terrorist on the site. The enemy wandered into my sniping window. I pulled the trigger, eliminating another enemy team member.

Our fourth team member cleaned up the last Terrorist, while the first member started defusing the bomb.

" _Counter-Terrorists win,"_ the game said as we scored our 16th round, winning the match.

"Good game, everybody!" I said into my headset, my teammates echoing me. I closed the game down, and as if on cue, the front door opened to let Ruby, Weiss, and Blake in.

"Hey Yang! How many cd's do we have for tonight?" Ruby asked as they walked in.

"About 250," I said as Weiss walked up to me, giving me a quick peck before heading to the kitchen.

"What!? Only 250?" Ruby exclaimed. "On Monday you said you had 100 done! You had all week to do the rest!"

"Ruby, we really don't need that many right now," Weiss said as she walked back in, a bottle of green tea in hand. "250 is going to last us a few shows."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Ruby said, deflating slightly, before immediately reinflating. "Okay then, let's start getting everything packed up and ready to go!"

"The show's not for seven hours yet," Blake said. "Why would we be packed up now?"

"So we have time to quadruple-check everything!" Ruby explained. " C'mon guys, am I the only one that's taking this seriously?"

"Of course not, we all are," Weiss said. "You're just overexcited."

"Actually, Ruby," I interjected. "You should go check all of the instruments and cables. We should make sure everything is in order while we still have time to go buy anything we need."

"On it!" Ruby saluted, before darting off to her room. I sighed and sat down next to Weiss, who was pinching the bridge of her nose.

"She's been like this all day, hasn't she?" I asked.

"She won't stop stressing about it," Weiss answered.

"I remember my first show, I was nervous and hyperactive too," I said. "Aria actually had to slap me to get me to calm down."

"And that worked?" Weiss asked, surprised.

"Kinda, the slap itself didn't, but my follow up punch was a bit cathartic," I explained. "In other words, don't slap me."

"No slapping, got it," Weiss said, leaning into my shoulder.

"So how do we get Ruby to calm down?" Blake asked. "She's going to burn herself out before the show if we let her keep going like this."

"I don't think we can," I answered. "She won't burn out. Even if she does, knowing that we're going to play a show will bring her energy back. She's the ultimate test of patience."

"I don't envy you," Weiss teased.

"Good thing I'm patient, then," Blake replied, smirking.

"Alright guys!" Ruby said as she zipped back into the room. "We seem to be set on everything! Although, in my opinion, some of the guitars could use new strings. Who wants to come with me to Guitar Center?"

"I will," Blake volunteered.

"I should stay and make sure my drums are tuned well," I said.

"I'll stay, too," Weiss said.

"Okay, we'll be back in a while!" Ruby said as she and Blake headed for the door.

"Well, I should get on that," I said as I stood up.

"Need any help? I've got nothing better to do until later," Weiss asked.

"I could use some," I said, smiling at my girlfriend. The rest of the afternoon was spent preparing for the show. Ruby and Blake were restringing their guitars and basses. Weiss and I were tuning my drums and double checking her mic and amps… and making out. Actually, it was mostly making out.

* * *

Weiss

I paced nervously off of the side of the stage. We were supposed to go on in five minutes. Yang was talking very calmly to Jaune about the mixer. Figures she'd be calm, she's done this before. Ruby was checking over the amps, making sure all of the settings were right and ready to go. At least she has something to occupy her mind with.

Blake was talking to her guardian, Adam, and Taiyang about something or other. I didn't have anything. All I could do was think about the full bar we were about to play for. All of them, looking at us, at me, and judging us. What if I screw up? What if my voice falters? What if I forget the lyrics? What if they don't like us? What if-

A pair of strong arms wrapped around me, stopping me and my thought process and pulling me into a tight embrace.

"You okay?" Yang asked while holding me, her voice laced with concern.

"Yang, I don't know if I can do this," I answered shakily.

"Of course you can," she said, spinning me around to face her. "You're Weiss Schnee, you can do anything!"

"What if something goes wrong? What if they don't like me?" I asked.

"They'll love you. You're strong, beautiful, and the best damn singer I've ever heard. You're going to kill it!" she said, giving me her warmest smile, and capping it off with a kiss to my forehead.

"Thanks, Yang," I said as I leaned into a hug, smiling.

"Am I interrupting something?" came a gruff voice from behind Yang. We broke apart and looked at the source of the voice.

"Uncle Qrow!?" Yang cheered, running to hug her uncle.

"Hey there, Firecracker," Qrow greeted, hugging his niece.

"What are you doing here?" Yang asked, excitedly.

"Crashing your party, apparently," Qrow said smirking. "First you forget to tell me that you're back in town and living with your dad, and then I don't get an invitation to your first show? I'm hurt, kid!"

"Sorry, Uncle," Yang said, a sorry look in her eye. "I've been a bit preoccupied." Yang walked back to me and put her arm around me. "This is my girlfriend and our lead vocalist, Weiss!" Qrow and I looked at each other, both of us chuckling a bit.

"How you been, Ice Queen?" Qrow asked, smiling at me.

"As Yang said, busy," I answered, smiling back. "You haven't visited in a while."

"As it turns out, I've been busy too," he answered.

"Wait, wait, wait," Yang interjected, clearly confused. "You two have met?"

"Oh yeah," Qrow confirmed. "Several times."

"You seem to keep forgetting how long I've known Ruby," I teased. "I was bound to meet Qrow at some point. Honestly the weird thing was how long it took for you and I to meet."

"Yeah, I suppose," Yang said, laughing.

"UNCLE QROOOOOOW!" yelled Ruby, jumping and hugging Qrow. "Hi! It's so good to see you! Did you miss me? DID YOU MISS ME?"

"Nope," Qrow said, grinning and ruffling Ruby's hair.

"Thanks for coming, Uncle!" Ruby said.

"I almost didn't. If your dad didn't tell me, I would've missed." Qrow replied. "You and your sister need to work on hitting the send button."

"Guys!" Blake called from the stage. "It's time to go on!"

"Knock 'em dead, kids," Qrow encouraged as we made our way to the stage.

"How's everyone doing tonight?" Yang asked the crowd as she sat behind her drums. The various cheers and whistles from the crowd served as her answer. "Good to hear. We are Remnant!"

Yang beat her sticks together to give us the time, before opening with the drum beat. I stood and face the crowd, and suddenly my heart sank. They were all staring at me, judging me. I started shaking, I was so nervous. I had never performed for this many people before. Focusing on Yang's drums, I shakily sang the opening notes.

Weiss: I never knew

I never knew that everything was falling through

That everyone I knew was waiting on a cue

To turn and run when all I needed was the truth

Ruby kicked her distortion pedal, with Blake's bass coming in. Hearing the full sound calmed me, and my voice stabilized as I continued the verse.

But that's how it's got to be

It's coming down to nothing more than apathy

I'd rather run the other way than stay and see

The smoke, and who's still standing when it clears

I started to move more, as Ruby and Blake danced around a bit. Seeing these people smile at our performance, I felt determined, empowered. They like how we sound so far, and we need to give them a good show.

Everyone knows I'm in

Over my head

Over my head

With eight seconds left in overtime

She's on your mind

She's on your mind

Throughout the chorus, I could see people moving to the song, dancing a bit. I jumped around on the stage with Ruby and Blake, and I was having a blast.

Let's rearrange

I wish you were a stranger; I could disengage

Say that we agree and then never change

Soften a bit until we all just get along

Yang(unclean): But that's disregard

Find another friend, and you discard

As you lose the argument in a cable car

Weiss and Yang(unclean): Hanging above as the canyon comes between

There were some surprised looks in the crowd when Yang started screaming and the first breakdown kicked in. Some people were headbanging to the beat.

Weiss: Everyone knows I'm in

Over my head

Over my head

With eight seconds left in overtime

She's on your mind

She's on your mind

Everyone knows I'm in

Over my head

Over my head

With eight seconds left in overtime

She's on your mind

She's on your mind

Ruby and Blake: She's on your mind

Yang(unclean): And suddenly I become a part of your past

I'm becoming the part that don't last

I'm losing you, and it's effortless

Weiss: Without a sound we lose sight of the ground

In the throw around

Never thought that you wanted to bring it down

I won't let it go down till we torch it ourselves

Everyone knows I'm in

Over my head

Over my head

With eight seconds left in overtime

She's on your mind

She's on your

Yang(unclean): MIND!

SHE'S ON! YOUR! MIND!

Weiss: Everyone knows I'm in

Over my head

over my head

With eight seconds left in overtime

She's on your mind

She's on your mind

As the song ended, the bar erupted in cheers. I looked at Yang, who gave me a thumbs up. Ruby was jumping around in excitement, and Blake was smiling with pride. Our first live song was a success! People liked us! I didn't feel any more nervousness as the show went on. We played through Fat Lip, Dammit, All Star, Somebody That I Used to Know, our first original Can't Trust Anybody Now, Face Down, Misery Business, and Dance, Dance. The next song was our other original, and my personal favorite.

"Thank you all so much for coming out tonight!" Yang called into the crowd.

"This is going to be our last song," I announced. "This song and a few of the others we played tonight are on our demo!"

"If you want to support us, you can buy a physical copy from the gentleman at the table beside the stage here," Yang pointed out.

"It's also available for free on our Bandcamp!" Ruby announced.

"If you liked us, we're on Facebook and Twitter," I continued. "Go ahead and follow us, this show will be uploaded to our Youtube channel as well."

"Once again, thank you guys so much!" Yang called again. "This song is called This Will Be the Day."

Ruby played the opening chords, with Yang and Blake jumping in soon after. I ran through the lyrics quickly, and jumped in at my part.

Weiss: They see you as small and helpless;

They see you as just a child.

Surprise when they find out that a warrior will soon run wild.

Prepare for your greatest moments;

Prepare for your finest hour.

The dream that you've always dreamed is suddenly about to flower.

We are lightning,

Yang(unclean): Straying from the thunder,

Miracles of ancient wonder.

Weiss: This will be the day we've waited for.

This will be the day we open up the door.

Yang(unclean): I don't wanna hear your absolution;

Hope you're ready for a revolution.

Weiss: Welcome to a world of new solutions.

Welcome to a world of bloody evolution.

Yang(clean): In time, your heart will open minds,

A story will be told,

Weiss: And victory is in a simple soul.

Your world needs a great defender.

Your world's in the way of harm.

You want a romantic life; a fairytale that's full of charm.

Beware that the light is fading;

Beware if the dark returns.

This world's unforgiving, even brilliant lights will cease to burn.

All: Legends scatter.

Yang(unclean): Day and night will sever.

Hope and peace are lost forever.

Ruby kicked her overdrive pedal and started her solo. Her fingers danced across the frets, earning several cheers from the crowd. Yang and Blake put all of their energy into their parts, and all four of us had huge smiles on our faces.

Weiss: This will be the day we've waited for.

We are lightning.

Welcome to a world of new solutions.

This will be the day we've waited for.

This will be the day we open up the door.

Yang(unclean): I don't wanna hear your absolution;

Hope you're ready for a revolution.

Weiss: Welcome to a world of new solutions.

Welcome to a world of bloody evolution.

Yang(clean): In time, your heart will open minds,

A story will be told,

Weiss: and victory is in a simple soul!

"Thank you all so much! Good night!" I thanked as the crowd cheered for us. We stepped offstage toward our friends and family, all of them smiling and cheering for us.

"GUYS, THAT WAS AWESOME!" Nora cheered. "NUMBER ONE FAN RIGHT HERE!"

"You were all amazing!" Pyrrha agreed, with Ren nodding in agreement.

"You kids did alright," Qrow said, smirking at us. I looked over to Taiyang's table, and noticed some people lining up to buy CD's.

"We should probably start packing up, guys," Ruby said. "The sooner we leave, the sooner we can go to bed."

"Yes please," I said, exhausted.

"Really guys?" Yang said, laughing. "We gotta work on your stamina. These shows are only going to get longer as we get bigger!"

As much as the thought scared me, it also excited me. This show was the most fun I had ever had. The thought of doing that more, and for longer, made my heart pound in excitement. I always thought this was the case, but now I knew for sure. This is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

* * *

 **Remnant plays: A Day to Remember's version of Over My Head**

 **Chunk! No, Captain Chunk's version of All Star**

 **Mayday Parade's version of Somebody That I Used to Know**

 **Alright! First concert! Again, thank you guys so much for reading! I really hope you all are enjoying reading it as much as I am writing it. Now, on to the next chapter of Simpler Times. See you all next time!**


	12. 18

Chapter 12

18

 **Warning: The M rating will be coming into full effect, starting with this chapter.**

* * *

Blake

"ID checks out," the bouncer said, stepping aside to let me into the venue. "Happy birthday, by the way."

"Thanks," I said as I walked past him, catching up to my bandmates. It's my 18th birthday, and we're getting ready to play a show at a new venue. Yang was able to get us a basement show, where the crowd would be a little bigger and more lively, as well as more into our style of music.

"Now you're sure that this isn't a problem, Blake?" Yang asked me. "18 is a big deal, I'm pretty sure you don't want to waste the night playing a show."

"You're acting like I don't love playing these shows," I responded. It's true, I wasn't nearly as energetic on stage as the other three, I still loved playing though. Honestly, playing a show is a great way to spend my 18th. "Besides, it's not like we can cancel now, we're already here."

"I still feel guilty, though!" Yang whined.

"Yang, I'm not a big birthday person," I explained. "Honestly, what we did after school was perfect. Just the four of us, the Happy Birthday song, and a little cake was all I needed."

"Okay, if you say so," Yang said, still looking a little sorry. _She'll get over it._

After a few minutes, people started filing into the venue. Yang said that this would be a more punk crowd, so we could play whatever we wanted. _As long as it sounds good and it looks like we're having fun,_ she told us. We had some heavier songs in our new, longer setlist, it'll be interesting to see how the crowd here reacts to us. We've been playing at Junior's every week for the past month, so I really wanted to see how a small stage like this would compare to the bar we were used to.

The clock struck 10, and Weiss introduced us.

"How's everyone doing tonight?" she asked the crowd, earning a small cheer. "Well that's good! We are Remnant!"

Yang played the opening drum roll to Can't Trust Anybody Now, Ruby and I jumping in shortly after. I watched the crowd for initial reactions, and noticed that a lot of them were jumping, and a small mosh pit broke out in the center. They were moshing to our original song, one that they couldn't have heard before. I couldn't help but feel a little proud at that fact, After a few measures of playing, we took our spots by our mics.

Ruby, Weiss, and Blake: It's getting pointless  
Yang(clean): Trying to keep up this game

Ruby, Weiss, and Blake: Broken friendships  
Yang(clean): Watching pleasure turn to pain

Ruby, Weiss, and Blake: All around us  
Yan(clean): Lines are being drawn between

Ruby, Weiss, and Blake: Don't believe them  
Yang(clean): They try to tell us we're a team

We like to think that there is something good to hold on to  
One simple reason keeps us hanging on

They're out to break us down, to run our lives  
To rule our minds

Our days of destiny are gone

But your dreams have turned to fear  
And it's pretty goddamn clear  
That you know you can't trust anybody now

Ruby, Weiss, and Blake: You think they help us  
Yang(clean): You think they give us everything

Ruby, Weiss, and Blake: They'll just use us  
Yang(clean): Whatever bitter end to bring

Ruby, Weiss, and Blake: It gets harder  
Yang(clean): They'll sacrifice you for their needs

Ruby, Weiss, and Blake: Wake the fuck up  
Yang(clean): They'll have us crawling on our knees

You always dreamed that there'd more to life than all the lies  
A place you'd find where you weren't all alone

But now you look around, at what you've learned  
And face the truth

That you may never find a home

Now your smiles have turned to tears  
And it's pretty goddamn clear  
That you know you can't trust anybody now

The crowd cheered after the song ended, showing how much they liked our song.

"If you guys thought that was good, we got a whole lot more for you," Yang told the crowd, earning another cheer.

"I have a question for you all," Weiss said. "How many Neck Deep fans do we have in here?" A loud cheer rang from the crowd to answer the question.

"That sounds like the majority of them," Ruby said.

"Well then, I expect to hear people singing along to this next song!" Weiss challenged the crowd. Yang's stage presence coaching is really starting to pay off, Weiss is a lot more relaxed and interactive with the crowd lately. "This is Kali Ma!"

Ruby played the opening guitar lick, before Yang and I jumped in to complete the intro. A noticeably bigger mosh pit opened in the crowd, almost touching the edges of the small venue. I liked this, it's a very intimate feeling, playing in a venue this small. Being able to see and interact with the crowd is a lot of fun.

Weiss: Sit still

In the cold of February

Hold my hand in the cemetery

And you'll be safe

And I know that

This is only temporary

But I don't think that it's helping

Anything

Well it's all fun and games

Until someone gets fucked up

This will end in tears

I could never be enough for you

Count my blessings on one hand

And my curses on the other

Let you slip between my fingers

Yang(clean): Hide away until the summer

Weiss: Kali Ma

Lean over me

Rip your hand into my chest

Pull out my beating heart

For the world to see

Then send me down to Hell

You ignore my pleas

Indiana couldn't save me

So I guess

I'll save myself

We hop from bench to bench

In the middle of our town

Where the street lights hit your eyes

And then the tears come falling down

The love that you confessed

A product of your loneliness

I see right through you

But what do I do?

Of course I fall for it

Just like I did when I was sixteen

Such a fool for you

Did you ever even miss me?

Yang(clean): Doubt it

Weiss: Kali Ma

Lean over me

Rip your hand into my chest

Pull out my beating heart

For the world to see

Then send me down to Hell

You ignore my pleas

Indiana couldn't save me

So I guess

I'll save myself

Kali Ma

Lean over me

Rip your hand into my chest

Pull out my beating heart

For the world to see

Oh won't you go to Hell?

All: GO TO HELL

Yang(clean): You're gonna get killed

Chasing after your damn

Fortune and glory

Weiss: Maybe I

Maybe I will

Yang(unclean): BUT NOT TODAY

The crowd let out a surprised cheer at Yang's sudden scream, and continued moshing through the outro. The crowd cheered again as we ended the song. I could tell that the rest of our show was going to be a good one, we already had the crowd's attention.

"Now before we start this next song," Yang said. "I believe some recognition is in order." I don't think we planned having to fill time after that song, why are they talking?

"Our bassist," Ruby said, drawing the attention to me, "my lovely girlfriend over there, it's her birthday today, and she decided to spend it playing a show. Can we get some applause for her?" I felt my face heat up as the crowd cheered and clapped for me, I wasn't used to this much direct attention. But then Weiss started singing Happy Birthday, and the whole crowd joined in. All of these strangers came out to see a random band that they had probably never heard of, and now they're singing Happy Birthday to it's bassist. And they were all smiling, enjoying themselves, and happy to celebrate my birthday with me.

Strangers have never done that to me before, since I'm a Faunus. When I lived in Vacuo, people wouldn't care if it was my birthday or not, unless I was wearing my bow. I was still a second class citizen. Now, a crowd of strangers are singing Happy Birthday to me, with my ears on full display, and earnest smiles on their faces. I felt a slight stinging in my eyes, I blinked it away, and cleared my throat.

"Thanks guys," I said to the crowd. "It means a lot to me." I said it to the crowd, but it was mostly directed at my bandmates. The best friends I could ever want, Weiss and Yang, and the most important girl in my life, Ruby. Since I met her, she's been by my side, and given me all I've ever needed or wanted. Friends, dreams, and most of all, love. I really am a lucky Faunus, despite being a black cat.

We continued our set, playing our longest show yet. 15 songs, almost an hour and a half. With each song, the crowd became louder and more energetic. By the time we closed with This Will Be the Day, it was basically a constant cheer. After we said goodnight and directed people to the table to buy demos, we started to clean up. Needless to say, Ruby, Weiss, and I were exhausted, but Yang of course had energy to spare.

"We gotta work on your stamina, babe!" she teased Weiss.

"Honestly, I think doing this once a week is enough of a workout," Weiss answered tiredly. As we continued packing up, a tall woman in a red cocktail dress and dark hair walked up.

"That was impressive," she said to us.

"Aww, thanks!" Ruby said, excited by the praise. The woman ignored her, and turned her attention to Weiss.

"My name is Cinder," she started. "I work for the Salem Record Company. What would you say if I told you the company has taken an interest in you?"

"Salem Records is interested in signing Remnant!?" Weiss asked, shocked and excited.

"Hardly," Cinder said, condescendingly. "Salem is interested in _you_ , Ms. Schnee."

"M-me?" Weiss said, dumbstruck.

"You have a voice that we can work with," Cinder explained. "We can give you fame, fortune. All you need to do, is lend us your voice."

Weiss looked back at us, looking for our opinions. Weiss is being presented with the opportunity of a lifetime, being able to live out her dream as a famous singer. I nodded, showing my support as her friend, and only wanting the best for her. Ruby smiled and gave her a thumbs-up, probably thinking the same thing I was. Ruby and I looked at Yang, to see her reaction.

Surprisingly, she nodded, reassuring Weiss. She couldn't fool me though. There was sadness in her eyes, the thought of her girlfriend and bandmate being thrown into the spotlight, away from her and the rest of us. But she knew that this was Weiss's dream, and as a good girlfriend, supported her. Weiss smiled and nodded to us, before turning back to Cinder to give her answer.

"You want my answer now?" she asked Cinder.

"That would be preferable," Cinder answered.

"In that case," Weiss continued, "I'll have to say 'Go fuck yourself.'" I heard Ruby and Yang's jaws hit the floor, as well as my own.

"Excuse me?" Cinder hissed.

"You come to our show, insult my band, no, my FAMILY, in front of me, and then you expect me to accept being turned into a dolled-up music industry puppet?" Weiss ranted. "Fuck you. If these girls don't go, I don't go."

"Fine then," Cinder said lowly. "Keep your precious band. You'll never make it out of this pitiful town with them. Just remember that you chose a life of mediocrity over becoming a world icon." She then turned and stormed off, leaving Weiss glaring after her. Yang walked up and pulled Weiss into a kiss.

"That was badass!" she told her girlfriend.

"Why'd you do that?" I asked Weiss.

"I can't stand people like her," Weiss said, her scowl returning. "If I wanted to be like she said, I wouldn't have become friends with Ruby in the first place. And nobody talks about you guys like that."

"Awwwww, Weiss!" Ruby said as she pulled Weiss into a hug, Yang following suit. I walked over and hugged my friends, knowing they'd just ask me anyway.

"While we're already hugging," I said. "Thank you guys for getting the crowd to sing Happy Birthday. It meant a lot to me."

"It was Ruby's idea," Weiss said as we broke apart.

"I figured as much," I said before pecking Ruby and the cheek. "Thanks, sweetie."

"Well Weiss, we should finish packing up!" Yang said. "These two still need their girlfriend birthday time!"

"We'll finish up here," Weiss said. "You two go have fun. We'll see you tomorrow!"

"Will do guys!" Ruby said. "And Yang, if there's a single nick on any of my guitars, your emblem won't be the only thing that's burning!"

"As if you could take me," Yang snarked. "Get out of here!" Ruby and I followed Yang's orders and headed out to Ruby's car.

"So, where do you want to go?" Ruby asked as we got into the car. "Want to go get some food or-" I cut her off by pulling her into a rough kiss. Ruby was shocked at the initial contact, but quickly regained herself and reciprocated. She leaned into me, deepening the kiss, forcing me to let out a small moan. After a minute we broke apart, a little short of breath. After a moment to regain myself, I made a suggestion.

"You know, Adam had to go to Austin for the weekend for work," I said, tracing circles on Ruby's leg. "When was the last time you've been in my room?"

"It's been a few years," Ruby said. "You always come to my place."

"Maybe a change of scenery would be nice," I suggested, biting my lip. "There is a completely empty house that we could use to try something… new."

"Blake Belladonna," Ruby teased. "Am I sensing some lewdity coming from you?"

"Well," I said, slowing my finger-tracing, "it is legal now." Ruby giggled and put the car in drive.

* * *

Ruby tackled me onto the bed, both of us frantically kissing the other, our breathing heavy and our hands wandering. I ran my hand up Ruby's shirt, she sat up and helped me take it off of her, leaving her top half only wearing her bra. She came back down to reconnect our lips as she started working the buttons on my blouse. I shrugged my shoulders and arched my back to give her room to take it off, our lips never leaving each other.

I hooked my thumb into her jeans and pulled, telling her that I wanted them off. Her hands moved to the button, undoing it and letting the pants come loose, allowing me to pull them off of her legs. I ran my hand up her leg as it came back, stopping at her butt to give it a firm squeeze. She squeaked and smiled into the kisses, her hands working my leggings off of me. As she pulled them off, we both stopped and looked at each other.

"We're really doing this?" Ruby asked slightly out of breath, to which I nodded. "You're sure? If you feel uncomfortable, we can stop."

"No, Ruby," I said, placing my hand on her cheek to reassure her. "I love you, and I trust you. I want this."

"I love you, too," she said, leaning down to kiss me. As we kissed, I snaked my arms around her back and undid her bra. The article fell off of her shoulders, baring her perky breasts into the open. I ran my hands over her body, and traced her pink mounds with my thumbs, eliciting a gasp from Ruby.

I lightly pinched and rolled her nipples between my fingers, causing Ruby to moan lightly at the touches. I leaned up to take one into my mouth, sucking and running my tongue over the pink bud. Ruby took the opportunity while I was off my back, and undid my bra. The black cups fell, letting my noticeably larger breasts fall free.

"My turn," Ruby said into my ear, her low tone making my hair stand on end. She pushed me back down onto my back, taking one of my breasts in her hand, and the other into my mouth. I gasped at the sensation, Ruby's tongue dancing over my nipple, lightly flicking over it. Each second, I could feel my core welling up, my panties soaking through.

"R-Ruby…" I gasped out between moans, my hand instinctively moving between my legs. "Please…" Ruby let go of my breasts and sat back, tugging on the edges of my panties.

"You sure you're ready for this?" she asked me again, to which I frantically nodded, not wanting to delay this any more. Ruby looked over me again. "Should I be on the lookout for blood?"

"No, I popped it a long time ago," I answered.

"Really?" Ruby said, smirking. "Did you do it, or was there someone I should know about?"

"Rubyyyy," I whined and squirmed in frustration. Ruby giggled and slid off my panties, taking her position with her head between my legs. She kissed along my inner thigh to tease me some more, causing me to groan in impatience.

Ruby took that as her cue, and she started lightly kissing my folds. Light kisses turned into sucking, and soon tongue was added. I bit my finger and moaned into it, Ruby making it hard for me to control my volume. After a few minutes of oral, Ruby slid a finger into me, and moved her mouth to my clit.

The sudden finger inside of me caused me to gasp loudly, throwing volume control out the window, as I remembered that Adam wasn't home. After hearing my reaction, Ruby added a second finger, and began to explore inside. Nonsensical moans spilled from my throat as Ruby's tongue danced around my clit, turning into slight shrieks as Ruby found the best spot.

Content with finding the right buttons, Ruby sped up her movements, her tongue rapidly flicking over my clit and her fingers pumping into me at an increasing pace. I could feel pressure building, causing my volume to increase and my body to shake in anticipation.

"R-Ruby! I-I'm… about to- AH!" I gasped out as my orgasm reached it's climax, causing me to squirm and yell in ecstasy. As I started to come down, I looked at Ruby. "Have you done this before? That was amazing."

"Never with someone else," Ruby answered. "Although, maybe being a girl gives me a slight advantage."

"Shall we test that theory?" I said, grabbing her and pinning her to the bed. I leaned down to her ear and whispered, "My turn."

I made my way down her body, kissing from her neck down her torso, sliding off her red panties as I made my way down. I stopped just above her entrance, and looked up at her. "Ready?"

"Ready," she said, giving me her permission. I tried my best to replicate her technique, without miming it. It seemed to work, as Ruby's hand came down to keep my head in place, low moans escaping her throat. I slipped my finger inside of her, searching her front wall for her most sensitive spot.

"Oh, Blake, right there!" she gasped out. Finding my target, I slipped in another finger, and put my years of playing bass to work. Ruby's moans grew louder, and I could feel the bed sheets pulling from her grip on them.

"Oh god, BLAKE!" she cried out as she came, covering me with her nectar. I lapped up what I could, she tasted surprisingly sweet. As she lay in exhausted silence, I got up and grabbed a towel hanging on my door.

"Sorry about that," Ruby said between heavy breaths. "I probably should've warned you." I crawled back onto the bed and kissed her.

"It was actually a nice surprise," I told her. "I never took you for a squirter." She punched my arm, her face pink with slight embarrassment. I pulled the covers over both of us, and I held Ruby. "Thank you, Ruby."

"Hm? For what?" she asked me.

"For everything," I said. "For giving me the best birthday I've ever had, for being the most caring and supportive person I've ever met, and just for being by my side."

"And I always will be," she said, turning around and kissing me between my ears. "I love you, Blake."

"I love you too, Ruby."

* * *

 **Oh man, I hope that turned out okay, I have no idea how to write sex scenes. If you guys made it this far, thank you all so much! This was a tough one to write. Remember to follow, fav, and review, I love hearing what you guys think! See you all next time!**


	13. Graduation

Chapter 13

Graduation

* * *

Yang

I woke up to the grating sound of my alarm going off. I grabbed my phone and shut it up, before returning to the white mass of hair on the other side of my bed. I usually had music wake me up, but since Weiss started sharing my bed on occasion, I had to change it. Not because she asked, I just figured she didn't want to hear Bring Me the Horizon first thing in the morning.

"Babe, it's time to get up," I said, shaking her shoulder a bit.

"No it's not, don't touch me," she said in her adorable sleepy voice.

"That's not what you were saying last night," I teased. Yeah, I deserved the slap on the arm she gave me. "C'mon, it's a big day today! You're graduating!" Weiss groaned and finally sat up, rubbing an eye.

"It's not that big of a deal," she said, clearly not wanting to get out of bed.

"It's a huge deal, Weiss!" I explained. "That diploma is your ticket to the rest of your life!"

"Mmm," she grumbled and got out of bed, making her way to the bathroom to get ready.

She might not have been enthusiastic about graduating, but I was ecstatic. I was so proud of my bandmates for graduating, and I couldn't wait to watch them walk across the stage. My baby sister Ruby, my lovely girlfriend Weiss, and one of the best friends I've ever had, Blake.

Plus, once they're done with school, they'll have all summer to focus on Remnant! I've been patient with them, sitting at home all day while they were at school, only playing weekend shows, it was agonizingly boring! But it's a good thing they're graduating, we're going to need all the practice time we can get in order to prepare for the Vytal Festival Battle of the Bands.

The Vytal Festival is a yearly music festival held in Vale. It's not a nationally known thing, but it's a big enough deal in Texas. Think of it as a smaller version of SXSW. Every year before the festival, a Battle of the Bands competition is held. The winner of the contest won a slot on the main stage of the festival, which is huge for exposure. If Remnant could win that competition, there would be a lot of people introduced to us through the festival.

Weiss came back in, dressed in her gown with her hair in her usual side-pony.

"Why's this such a big deal to you?" she asked me.

"Because I'm proud of you. All of you guys. I can't wait to watch you guys on that stage!" I explained.

"You're coming to the ceremony?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world!" I cheered.

"You do realize you need to watch about 150 other people walk across the stage too, right?"

"I don't care, I'm going to support you three!" Weiss came over and planted a kiss on my forehead.

"Thanks, Yang," she said. "It means a lot. Then again, I probably couldn't stop you if I tried."

"You absolutely could not," I said. "Weiss, do you know who came to see me at my graduation ceremony? Dad. Just Dad. Ruby still had a regular school day, and my own mother couldn't be bothered to see me get my diploma. Even if I hadn't met you and Blake, I would've went for Ruby, since her mom can't come."

"You're a really great big sister," Weiss said as she sat down next to me. "God knows my sister wouldn't do anything like that."

"And that's even more reason for me to go!" I said, kissing her on the cheek. "I'm pulling quadruple duty today! Big sister, girlfriend, best friend, and bandmate!"

"Ruby! Weiss!" Dad called from downstairs. "You guys gotta get going, or you'll be late!"

"C'MON WEISS LET'S GO!" Ruby said as she zipped past my door.

"I'll see you at the ceremony," I said, kissing Weiss goodbye. "Go on, get going."

"Okay, Yang, see you later!" she said as she left.

"Don't forget your cap!" I yelled after her.

"Shouldn't you be telling Ruby that?" Weiss said in a slightly offended tone.

"I was!" I yelled back, laughing a little.

"AW SHIT!" Ruby said, bolting back to her room. "THANKS, SIS!" she said, zipping by my door again. I chuckled at Ruby while standing up and stretching, getting ready to jump in the shower.

150 students? This was going to be a long one.

* * *

Boy was I right.

I looked at Dad and Adam with my biggest "This sucks" look on my face. They both gave me an apologetic look and nodded.

"Your's was almost as bad, you know," Dad whispered to me. "You had almost as many graduates, and I didn't have you and Adam here. Plus our last name is pretty close to the bottom of the list."

"Yeah, thanks for that," I snarked.

"Hey now, would you rather be Yang Branwen?" he teased.

"Fuck no!" I said almost a little too loudly. "I'd hate myself if I shared a name with that witch! Besides, it doesn't exactly roll off the tongue."

"What about Yang Schnee?" he continued to tease.

"Pump the brakes, 10-speed," I giggled back. "We've only been together for a couple of months, don't plan too far ahead. And, if one of us were to take a name, it'd be Weiss Xiao Long."

"You know I almost tried to make that a reality a couple of years ago," Dad replied.

"What do you mean?" I asked, a little confused.

"I thought about officially adopting Weiss," he answered. "It wouldn't have been possible though. And looking at it now, it wouldn't have changed much of anything."

"I was going to say, wouldn't her father have to agree to put her up for adoption?" I asked.

"That was the problem. Weiss said that he was too proud to give up his daughter, and if she were to try anything to get him to agree to it, he would've found out that she's been away from home for so long. Bye-bye Weiss if that happened."

"But now she's 18 and graduating," I said, smiling. "He has no control over her. She's free."

"You're both free," Dad said, nudging me. "You've noticed the similarities between you and her, right?"

"I have, and it's weird to think about," I said. "Two very different people with very similar family situations, coming together like this."

"Some might call it destiny," Dad said.

"I call it luck," I said. "Something I seem to have a lot of recently."

"What about your band breaking up?" he asked.

"From my perspective, it was a blessing in disguise," I explained. "If that had never happened, I wouldn't have moved back in with you, Remnant wouldn't have formed, Blake and I wouldn't have become friends, and I wouldn't have met Weiss. Only good things came from the breakup."

"I suppose you're right," Dad agreed.

"Ruby Rose!" Signal's Principal called from the stage. Ruby stood up from among her class and walked across the stage to receive her diploma. It was incredibly refreshing, seeing Ruby up there after so many other people.

Jaune was one of the first ones called, on account of his last name being Arc. Blake wasn't long after him. There was a huge gap after her though, at least 90 students, leading up to Pyrrha. I didn't know Jaune and Pyrrha all that well, but it was a bit relieving to see someone familiar up there.

There was another lull after that, no familiar names, until Ren was called. I really only knew his name and face from the others and from him coming to a couple of our shows. A couple more after him led up to Ruby. Dad and I clapped and whistled, so proud of my baby sister.

"Weiss Schnee!" the Principal called, a few graduates after Ruby. Dad and I clapped again, and I couldn't help but feel incredibly happy for my Ice Queen. _That diploma is the ticket to the rest of your life!_ My own words echoed in my head, and I remembered just how true they were for Weiss. She didn't have to run and hide anymore. Her father couldn't do anything to her, she was truly free to live her life as she saw fit.

Weiss walked up to the Principal and shook his hand, taking her diploma in the other. That was it, the rest of the ceremony flew by after that. I was so busy thinking about the huge hug those three were going to get, that I almost missed Nora. Then I heard her last name. Her last name's Valkyrie? That's the most metal last name I've ever heard!

When the ceremony finally ended, Dad, Adam, and I all went outside to find our graduates. Many, many pictures were taken. Adam and Blake got a picture together, and Dad got pictures with Ruby and Weiss. Then we did a Xiao Long family picture, with me, Weiss, Dad, and Ruby. Then us four girls split up to get pictures with each other. After all of that, we took my favorite one, the Remnant picture.

"We are one good looking band," I said as I looked at the picture.

"We should get home soon," Weiss said. "We still have to set up and do sound check for the grad party."

* * *

Ruby got the song started with Dammit's iconic guitar riff. After a couple of measures, Blake and I jumped in to play the last few measures of the intro, where Weiss's cue came in.

Weiss: It's alright

To tell me

What you think

About me

I won't try

To argue

Or hold it

Against you

I know that

You're leaving

You must have

Your reasons

The season

Is calling

Your pictures

Are falling down

They're falling down

The steps that

I retrace

The sad look

On her face

The timing

And structure

Did you hear

Party Crowd: HE FUCKED HER

Weiss: A day late

A buck short

I'm writing

The report

On losing

And failing

When I move

I'm flailing now

Yang(clean): And it's happened once again

I'll turn to a friend

Someone who understands

Sees through the master plan

Now everybody's gone

And I've been here for too long

To face this on my own

Well I guess this is growing up

Well I guess this is growing up

Weiss: And maybe

I'll see you

At a movie

Sneak preview

You'll show up

And walk by

On the arm

Of that guy

And I'll smile

And you'll wave

We'll pretend

It's okay

This charade

It won't last

When he's gone

I won't come back

Yang(clean): And it'll happen once again

You'll turn to a friend

Someone who understands

Sees through the master plan

Now everybody's gone

And you've been here for too long

To face this on your own

Well I guess this is growing up

The bridge is all me and Ruby. I put on my fancy footwork for my bass drums, while Ruby handles the melody. Weiss took a drink from her water bottle, getting ready to finish off the song.

Weiss: Guess this is growing up

Well I guess this is growing up

Well I guess this is growing up

Well I guess this is growing up

Well I guess this is growing up

"Thank you guys so much!" Weiss said after the song ended. "The speaker systems going on shuffle now, so everyone please continue to enjoy the party!"

"Guys come on, it's your party," I said as Ruby and Blake started cleaning up our equipment. "Let me get this, you guys go have fun."

"If you say so, Yang," Blake said, smiling at my offer.

"Yang," Ruby said in a serious tone, "if you do any-"

"Anything to your baby, blah blah, wring my neck, blah blah," I teased. "I got this, Ruby, you act like I've never picked up after a show before."

"Just making sure you know," she said before giving me the "I'm watching you" hand gesture. I smiled and flipped her the bird before getting to work on tearing down our makeshift stage.

After a few minutes of packing, Blake came up to me with a blonde Faunus boy with a monkey tail.

"Blake! What's Ruby going to say!" I said in a mock shocked voice.

"Yang, this is my old friend, Sun," she said, rolling her eyes at me.

"Good to meet ya!" I said, sticking my hand out. "I'm Yang, Ruby's sister and Blake's BEST friend." Blake's palm went to her forehead as my teasing continued.

"You guys were all really awesome up there," Sun said as he took my hand.

"D'oh stop it you!" I joked. I probably should've stopped, but Blake's reactions were priceless.

"Anyway," Blake said, continuing to glare at me. "Sun plays guitar and drums."

"Hate to burst your bubble, Goku, but we're not exactly looking for new members," I told him apologetically.

"I figured as much," Sun said. "That's why I was actually wondering if you guys were looking for crew members. Do you need a guitar or drum tech?"

"We wouldn't exactly pay well, we're not making a ton of money from these local shows," I warned him.

"Doesn't bother me," he said. "Still gives me something to do while making even a little extra cash."

"In that case, I'm not opposed," I told him. "Blake? Think Ruby and Weiss would be on board?"

"They already are," she answered. "I talked to them before I talked to you."

"Blake, I'm hurt!" I said, poking fun at Blake again. "How could you discuss something like this with your girlfriend before your best friend?" When Blake's famous death-glare appeared on her face, I dropped the act. "Well in that case, welcome aboard, Sun!"

"Awesome! When do I start?" he asked excitedly.

"Right now, this stuff needs to go in the garage, hop to it!" I ordered.

"Yes ma'am!" he said before jumping to work. As he grabbed some drum cases, Blake came and stood by my side.

"Do you actually think of me as your best friend?" she asked me.

"Hell yeah I do kitty-kat!" I said, putting my arm around her. "Granted your competition is my girlfriend and my little sister, but you're still the best friend I've had in my whole life!"

"I could say the same," Blake said, leaning into the side-hug. "It meant a lot to me that you came to graduation and threw this party for us."

"Well, you all mean a lot to me," I said. "I just wanted you guys to have a better graduation than I did."

"Weiss told me. I think you succeeded," she said.

"We start getting to work tomorrow," I reminded. "Battle of the Bands is in two weeks."

"We'll be ready," Blake said confidently. "Our crowds have only been getting bigger, we can win."

"Can you imagine playing at the Vytal Festival?" I asked excitedly.

"I don't have to," she said bluntly. "We're going to experience it in a month."

"Loving the confidence, Blake!"

She was right, there's no way we were going to lose that competition!

* * *

 **13 chapters already, wow. I felt Dammit fit the graduation milestone pretty well. As always, thank you guys so much for reading, remember to send me your feedback! Until next time!**


	14. Past vs Present

Chapter 14

Past vs. Present

 **The lyrical content in this chapter is meant for fun and comedy. I apologize in advance if anyone should take offense, that is not my intention, nor the intention of the songs original writer. Remember, we're here to have fun.**

* * *

Ruby

"Well that was a load of shit," Weiss said as we walked out of the movie theater. We had just finished watching some movie called RWBY, we were less than impressed. "I think they used our likenesses. Can we sue?"

"Out the butt," I confirmed, also a little miffed that the main character was a dead ringer for me.

"Maybe we should sue," Weiss repeated.

"Ruby," something seemed to call my name. I looked around, to find nothing. And I mean nothing, I couldn't even see the theater anymore, all I could see was Weiss and blackness.

"Say something, Weiss?" I asked her, thinking the voice came from her. Weiss seemed to ignore me.

"Ruby," the voice said again, louder this time. I looked around again, only to find more blackness. Suddenly, the world started to shake, Weiss falling out of view from the shaking. "Ruby!"

* * *

I opened my eyes to find Blake smiling down at me, one hand on my shoulder, the other one holding a Starbucks cup.

"Morning, sleepyhead," she said as she handed me the coffee and kissed the top of my head.

"Morning babe," I greeted back before taking a slow sip of the coffee. White Chocolate Mocha, my favorite. "What's the coffee for?"

"I had a hunch that you'd be up late writing, again," she replied as she sat next to me on the bed. "I didn't want you to be tired, big day today."

"Thanks," I said before kissing her cheek. "Man, did I have a dream."

"About what?" she asked.

"Weiss and I went and saw a really crappy movie, terribly animated action-comedy thing, right? The weird part though, was that the four main characters all looked exactly like us four, and our song, This Will be the Day, was the theme," I explained.

"Wow, that really is weird," Blake agreed. "Think it could mean anything?"

"Maybe it means that we're all gonna get famous to the point where people steal our faces," I joked.

"Hey, when we win today, we could be on that path," she responded.

"I love that you're so optimistic about this." I said, smiling at her. "You're usually the Debby Downer of the group."

"I'm not that bad, am I?" Blake said to herself.

"Nah, you're perfect." I kissed her cheek. "Wanna go make sure Yang and Weiss are up while I get ready?"

"Sure," she said while she got up. "Make it quick though! We still have to get everything packed and loaded!"

"Yes, ma'am!" I said, saluting. I took another swig of my mocha before heading toward the bathroom. I plugged my phone into the bathroom's stereo and started looking through my music. Yang showed all of us this pop punk parody band called Sunrise Skater Kids about a month ago. We all liked it so much that we figured out how to play a few of our songs.

"This one sounds good right about now," I said as I picked the song Friendville. The song started playing as I stripped and turned the shower on.

"I have more friends than you," I sang along as I started to wash my hair. "Nobody's ever gonna know what we've been through."

 _So we just need to play two songs today,_ I thought to myself. _Can't Trust Anybody Now and This Will be the Day, we got this._ The rules for the competition were that each band played two songs, at least one of them had to be original. We decided to play both of our originals, since judges tend to appreciate those more than covers. Yeah, bands have won with one cover before, but we really wanted to showcase our strengths.

I finished up and got dressed, grabbing my coffee before heading down to the garage to start getting everything loaded up onto Dad's trailer. Yang and Blake had already gotten started, most of Yang's drums already on the trailer.

"They were already up," Blake explained.

"Have you seen how much hair Weiss and I have?" Yang asked. "It takes a while to wash, we gotta give ourselves enough time."

"Where is Weiss?" I asked, looking around the room.

"Taking care of said hair," Blake answered. "Come help me with this." I set my coffee down and helped Blake load Yang's bass drum onto the trailer.

"You guys nervous?" Yang asked.

"No, we're going to win," Blake answered.

"How about you, Ruby?" Yang said, turning her attention toward me.

"I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little nervous," I said, picking up a couple of my guitars.

"Huh, Blake's usually the pessimist," Yang commented.

"That's what I said!" I said as I set my guitars on the trailer.

"Well don't worry, Rubes, I've done this before," Yang comforted. "My old band competed once, I know how the judges work."

"You guys won Battle of the Bands before?" Blake asked.

"Fuck no!" Yang laughed out. "We got our asses kicked!"

"That's not exactly reassuring, Yang!" I yelled at my sister.

"It does help though!" Yang said. "I know what the judges don't like."

"And what don't they like?" Blake asked as the three of us picked up amps and brought them to the trailer.

"Bands that try way too hard," Yang answered. "Sure, your sound needs to be solid, but live performances are so much more than just sound." She started pushing a speaker cabinet up the ramp. "If you try too hard to just sound good, you end up looking like robots on stage.

"You gotta have fun when you're playing. You gotta interact with the crowd, move around, show that you're enjoying it. My band sounded great, but because we just stood in our spots and played instead of putting on a show, we lost to bands that didn't sound quite as good. For a show like the Vytal Festival, you need to gotta create a fun environment for the audience. Ruby, you've seen New Found Glory live, right?"

"Yeah," I answered as I loaded more equipment.

"What were they like musically?" she asked.

"They were okay," I answered. "Jordan let the crowd do most of the singing since he kept running out of breath, but Chad and the others were good."

"Did you have fun at the show though?"

"Oh yeah, the show itself was awesome!" I continued. "The band had a ton of energy and the crowd was tight!"

"Bingo!" Yang said. "Concerts are supposed to be a fun performance, not an opportunity to show off how good you are at your instrument. Yeah, you should sound good, but if you don't enjoy yourself, the audience won't enjoy you either."

"Well, if our previous shows are any indication, we got a good shot," Blake said as we loaded up the last of our equipment.

"Alright guys, how much more packing do we have?" Weiss said as she walked into the garage. "Oh, we're done? Good job team! Let's get going!"

"Yeah, thanks for the help, babe," Yang said sarcastically.

"Don't mention it," Weiss replied as she got in the truck.

* * *

"Wow, there's a lot of people here," I said in awe as I looked out from our stage. Each band got their own stage, since there hasn't ever been more than four bands competing. There were only three competing this year. The band that was currently playing was a pop rock band called Hoist the Colors. The other band was a metalcore band named Crimes Against the Kingdom, with the third band being us, the easycore band Remnant.

"Damn, Crimes Against the Kingdom is a good name," Yang said as she looked at the program. She looked at the second stage where said band was setting up. "It kinda sounds like a name that Arin would've..."

"What's wrong?" Weiss asked, noticing that Yang trailed off.

"Is that Arin?" Yang said before jumping off of the stage and headed toward the other band.

"Yang, wait!" I called as the three of us followed after her.

"Arin!" Yang called out to her old bandmate. One of the guys that was setting up looked toward her, and recognition flashed across his eyes.

"Well well well, if it isn't Yang Xiao Long," the man said, a slight hint of disdain in his voice. Yang seemed to pick up on it, as her expression hardened slightly as she heard the tone in his voice. "Still drumming, huh?"

"You know it!" Yang answered, keeping her voice cheerful. I could see it in her eyes though, she regretted starting this conversation. "Wouldn't want anything else."

"I figured as much," Arin replied. "You know, your band is becoming pretty known around here. You're already moving a lot faster than we did with Embers."

"You know, we probably could've gone farther with Embers if some of us weren't so stubborn," Yang said, some venom creeping into her voice.

"Oh well," Arin said, shrugging. "My new band's better anyway. You'll see how much better we play than Remnant."

"Crimes Against the Kingdom," one of the judges said as they walked up to the stage, the crowd standing behind the barriers. At that point, I had just noticed that Hoist the Colors had finished their set. "Do you have your set ready?"

"We do, sir," Arin said as he handed the judge a slip of paper. "Catch you later, Yang."

"Alright, you may begin when ready," the judge said, him and his colleagues taking their seats at a table.

"Emerald, Mercury, Neo, you guys in Drop C?" Arin asked three of his bandmates, who all nodded in confirmation. "Okay, cue us in, Roman."

The drummer marked the time with his sticks, before the green-haired girl, who I reasoned was Emerald, played the opening measures. The riff sounded familiar, down tuned, but familiar. Then when the rhythm guitar and bass kicked in, it hit me.

They were playing This Will Be the Day.

"Judges, that's our song!" Yang screamed and stormed toward the judges' table. "Is this submitted as a cover?"

"No Miss, both of their songs are credited as original," one of the judges answered.

"Let me see that," I said, coming up behind Yang and looking at their set sheet. Sure enough, the band had This Will Be the Day and Can't Trust Anybody Now, both credited as originals.

"This is plagiarism!" Yang argued. "They should be disqualified!"

"Do you have proof that your band are the original performers?" another Judge asked.

"Proof? The songs are on our fucking demo!" Yang answered. It had been a long time since I had seen Yang this angry. Her irises were a deep crimson, instead of her typical lilac. Doctors could never explained why they changed when she got angry, as no one has ever had such a case before. Needless to say, her red eyes are a lot more intimidating than her natural ones.

"Do you have this demo on hand?" a Judge asked.

"No, we sold out of them at our last show," Yang answered.

"Then I'm sorry Miss, we can't disqualify them just on your word," the Judge said. "If it helps any, they aren't very good."

I looked back up at the stage. The Judge was right, the band sucked. There was no energy, no heart. It seemed robotic, and the songs didn't work well in the band's overall sound. Then I noticed something familiar off to the side of the stage. A dark haired woman in a red cocktail dress.

"Yang, look," I said, pointing the woman out to my sister. Her eyes seemed to get redder as she recognized the woman smirking at the band.

"Cinder," Yang growled. "Remnant! Band meeting, now!" The four of us headed back toward our stage.

"This is bullshit!" Yang shouted. "That fucking bitch set up that band just to undermine us!"

"What do we do now?" Weiss asked. "We don't have any more originals!"

"We do have the new one!" I suggested.

"But it's not finished yet," Blake pointed out.

"We don't have a choice, we have to play what we have," Yang said, writing the song down on our entry form. "What about the other song? It can be a cover."

"Should we do Downfall?" Weiss suggested. "That one always goes over well." I looked over again at Cinder's band, and back at Yang, whose irises were still burning red. Then an idea came to mind.

"Hey Yang, want to have some fun and get some of that anger out?"

* * *

"Remnant," said a judge as everyone made their way toward our stage. "Is your set ready?"

"Yes, sir!" Weiss said, handing him our entry form. The judges looked over the form breifly.

"Trigger Warning? I don't believe I'm familiar with this cover," one said.

"It's a newer song," Weiss explained.

"Very well, you may begin when ready," the Judge said.

"Ready guys?" Yang asked, to which we all nodded. "One, two, three, four!"

All: La la la la lalalalala la

La la la la lalalalala la

La la la la lalalalala la

La la la la lalalalala

Weiss: Let's go!

Hanging with my pals

No care in the world

We're making memories but

Then I see this girl

I ask her on a date

She tells me "That sounds good"

I'm gonna make her night

'Cause I'm a classy dude

She said

"Do you have what it takes

To be a feminist?"

Ruby (talk): I said "Sure!"

Weiss: Let me join you on your quest

For social justice

Ruby (talk): What could go wrong?

Weiss: In the sun

I've never felt so happy

With my friends

There's always joy around me

All good vibes

No bad ones in the first place

Never ever

Gonna leave my safe space

A couple weeks go by

She's always super pissed

She doesn't think the same

As a normal feminist

I start to learn a lot

About all these new things

Men deserve to die

Because of the patriarchy

I said

"This sounds farfetched but I guess

I'll do as you say"

Ruby (talk): She said "Scum!"

Weiss: How dare you doubt my logic

In any way?

Ruby (talk): I guess she's right!

Weiss: In the sun

I've never felt so happy

With my friends

There's always joy around me

All good vibes

No bad ones in the first place

Never ever

Gonna leave my safe space

Blake: Walking down the street

I look right at this girl

She's pretty freakin' hot

Let's make sure that she knows

(whistles)

Yang (talk): What did you just say?

Blake (talk): It, it was a whistle…

Yang (talk): Did you just oppress my girlfriend right in front of me!?

Blake (talk): Chill out, it was just-

Yang (talk): You cisgendered, hyper-privileged

Yang (unclean): BIGOT!

Blake (talk): Wh-what are you doing!? No, no, stop!

Yang (unclean): AHHHHHHHH!

Blake (talk): Please help me!

Yang (unclean): This is the end for you!

Rot in hell

You kink-shaming classist!

Choke on your words

And throw yourself

Into a

Burning furnace

Perpetuation

Of the

Cis-head

Supremacy!

You male-normative

Close-minded

RAPIST!

GO PLAY IN TRAFFIC!

Blake (talk): Look man, just take it easy-

Yang (talk): Man!? Did you just assume my gender!?

Blake (talk): Oh God, please-!

Yang (unclean): Watch your microagressions!

I have been triggered!

Blegh!

Deluded, chauvinistic, misgendering, middle-class,

binary-normative, crosse-dresser stigmatizing, homophobic,

thin-privileged, rape-culture sympathizing, hyper-masculine kyriarchist

Acknowledge the fox-kin!

Yang (talk): In conclusion, I hope you die alone.

Blake (talk): What do these words mean!?

Weiss (talk): Alright, where were we?

Weiss: In the sun

I've never felt so happy

With my friends

There's always joy around me

All good vibes

No bad ones in the first place

Never ever

Gonna leave my safe space

All: La la la la lalalalala la

La la la la lalalalala la

La la la la lalalalala la

La la la la lalalala

Yang (unclean): LA LA

The crowd let out a loud cheer after the song, and the judges all had smiles on and were chuckling as they wrote notes on our performance.

"How many of you have been to a Remnant show before?" Weiss asked the crowd. There was a small cheer from the crowd, indicating that some of them had seen us before. "Welcome back guys! And we've got a special treat for all of you!"

"We have decided," Yang continued, throwing a red-eyed glare at Crimes Against the Kingdom, "that we would debut a new song for you guys!" The Remnant veterans let out a cheer, they seemed okay with it. "This song is called From Shadows!"

I would never have suggested playing this song if we didn't have to. In it's current state, I'm not happy with it. It feels too short, like it could use another verse or some more instrumentals at the beginning and end. I had some ideas for it that I still had to run by Blake, it is her song. But knowing that I had to grin and bear it here, I played the opening chords, before the others came into the opening chorus.

Weiss: From Shadows

We'll descend upon the world

Yang (unclean): Take back what you stole

Weiss: From shadows

We'll reclaim our destiny

Yang (unclean): Set our future free

Weiss and Yang (clean):And we'll rise

And we'll rise

Yang (unclean): Above the darkness and the shame

Weiss: Above the torture and the pain

Yang (unclean): Above the ridicule and hate

Above the binding of our fate

The breakdown was one of the only parts of the song that I fully got behind. Blake and I playing the chords while Yang pounds her bass drums, it's a lot of fun to play.

Yang (clean): Born with

No life

Into subjugation

Treated

Like a

(unclean): worthless animal

Weiss: Stripped of

All rights

Just a lesser being

Crushed by

Cruel

Ruthless human rule

Yang (unclean): When it started

Weiss: All we wanted

Was a chance to live our lives

Yang (unclean): Now in darkness

Weiss: Taking everything we want

And we will rise

We'll rise

We'll rise

Now here's the main part I'm taking issue with. The rest of the song is a guitar solo. Yeah, I get to shred for the rest of the song, But I feel like more can be done lyrically and structurally. Maybe add another chorus here? Shorten the solo? Add another verse? There's so much more we could do with it.

The crowd and judges didn't seem to care though. The crowd was cheering and the judges had approving looks on their faces as they took notes. After a moment of discussion, on judge stood up.

"Would all bands please come to the judges table in front of Stage 3?" He called out, the other bands making their way towards us. We got off-stage and took our spot in front of them, the other bands not long after us.

"Hoist the Colors," the Judge said, looking at the band members. "Your performance was good, but sadly, nothing to make you stand out from similar bands."

"Crimes Against the Kingdom," he said turning to the band next to us. "You five are sorely lacking. We were all bored during your performance. You were all too focused on sounding good and all stood in your spots. And ironically, your sound wasn't good either. Your songs sound like they were written for another genre, and all you did was down tune and scream the lyrics. Which, interestingly, ties into some accusations of plagiarism that are being levied against you. We don't have proof that you did or didn't steal songs, but it's moot, as you are not this year's winners."

"Remnant," he said, finally turning toward us. "We all thoroughly enjoyed your performance. You four are very talented musicians and entertainers. You had a very large stage presence and were very engaged in your audience. The songs you played, the theatrics during your cover aside, mixed well and carried the same energy you girls were exhibiting. I think the crowds at the Vytal Festival will love you.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" the judge said, turning to the crowd. "The winners of the 2016 Vytal Festival Battle of the Bands is: Remnant!"

"We won!" I cheered, hugging my bandmates. I noticed Yang looking toward the back of the crowd. I followed her gaze to find Cinder, anger clear on the woman's face. Not Yang's though, Yang's eyes were lilac and triumphant.

"Eat your heart out, bitch!"

* * *

 **Again, thank you guys so much for reading! It's really good to be back in the swing of things. To those who got the reference in the beginning, y'all are awesome! Remember to follow, fav, and review! See you guys next time!**


	15. Beacon

VChapter 15

Beacon

* * *

Weiss

We've been a band for about six months now. A lot has changed since then. When we started, I hated Yang. Now I'm dating her. Ruby and Blake only had barely hidden feelings for each other. Now they're together. The first time we played together was in  
Taiyang's garage. Now we're playing shows for people.

We've played shows almost weekly since our first one, and since graduating we've played even more. We've played a few different venues. Bars, small clubs, basement shows, outdoor shows on makeshift stages, even Battle of the Bands.

None of those could hold a candle to the stage we currently occupied. We were situated in the middle of Port Plaza, the heart of downtown Vale and the main area for the Vytal Festival. The stage was massive compared to what we were used to. I'm amazed  
Ruby was able run around as much as she did while still playing accurately. Even Blake, who typically didn't move much during shows, was strutting around the stage. Massive speaker cabinets flanked Yang, with lights overhanging the stage. Jaune timed  
the lights to our songs, making it the most colorful show we've ever played.

And the crowd loved us. Some of them have seen us before, some have heard our demo, and other were new. But what shocked me the most was when I could hear people singing along to Can't Trust Anybody Now. It was the first time I had ever heard people sing  
one of our originals. It was empowering, energizing. It made me truly feel like these people were here to see us, and not just the songs we covered.

"Now for this next song," Yang said after the song. "Some of you will love us, and some of you might hate us. We're gonna play Justin Bieber." Some boos came from the crowd, but it felt lighthearted. Everyone liked making fun of Justin. "Easy! Easy! We  
put our own little spin on it. Here's 'Love Yourself.'"

Yang (clean): For all the times that you

rained on my parade

And all the clubs you get in

using my name

You think you broke my heart

oh girl for goodness sake

You think I'm crying on my own

but I ain't

And I didn't want to write a song

Cause I didn't want anyone thinking

I still care

I don't but

You still lit my phone up

And baby I'll be moving on

And I think you should be something

I don't want to hold back

Maybe you should know that

Weiss and Yang (clean): My momma don't like you

She likes everyone

And I never like to

Admit that I was wrong

But I've been so caught up in my job

Didn't see what's going on

But now I know

I'm better sleeping on my own

Cause if you like

The way

You look that much

Then baby you should go and

Love yourself

And if you think

That I'm

Still holding on

To something you should go and

Love yourself

Sun kicked Ruby's distortion on and Blake got ready to play. It's time for Remnant's spin to shine.

Weiss: And when you told me that

You hated my friends

The only problem was with you

And not them

And every time you told me

My opinion was wrong

You tried to make me forget

Where I came from

And I didn't want to write a song

Cause I didn't want anyone thinking

I still care

I don't but

You still lit my phone up

And baby I'll be moving on

And I think you should be something

I don't want to hold back

Maybe you should know that

My momma don't like you

She likes everyone

And I never like to

Admit that I was wrong

But I've been so caught up in my job

Didn't see what's going on

But now I know

I'm better sleeping on my own

Cause if you like

The way

You look that much

Then baby you should go and

Love yourself

And if you think

That I'm

Still holding on

To something you should go and

Love yourself.

The bridge hit and Ruby launched into her guitar solo. The crowd got pumped up when the tempo increased at the second verse. They loved our cover. It's not the first time we did something like this, but none of us really like Justin Bieber, so being able  
to turn one of his songs into something this cool is very satisfying to us, and the crowd seemed to agree.

Yang (clean): For all the times that you

Made me feel small

I fell in love

Now I feel nothing at all

And never felt so low

When I was vulnerable

Was I a fool to let you

Break down my wall

Weiss and Yang (clean): Cause if you like

The way

You look that much

Then baby you should go and

Love yourself

And if you think

That I'm

Still holding on

To something you should go and

Love yourself

Cause if you like

The way

You look that much

Then baby you should go and

Love yourself

And if you think

That I'm

Still holding on

To something you should go and

Love yourself.

The crowd cheered as the song ended. I looked to my bandmates, all of us looking satisfied. It was the first time we played this song live.

"See guys? That wasn't so bad was it?" Ruby asked the crowd. The crowd's volume increased as they shouted their responses.

"We've got a few more for you guys, then we gotta give up the stage," Yang said. There was an audible whine from the crowd, they didn't want us to leave. That was a massive confidence booster.

"We know, we don't want to leave yet either," I told the crowd. "There are other bands here though, they deserve the stage just as much as we do."

"Two more guys, you ready?" Ruby said. "This song's called Bored to Death."

Weiss: There's an echo pulling out the meaning

Rescuing a nightmare from a dream

The voices in my head are always screaming

That none of this means anything to me

And it's a long way back from seventeen

The whispers turn into a scream

And I'm, I'm not coming home

Save your breath, I'm nearly

Bored to death and fading fast

Life is too short to last long

Yang (clean): Back on Earth, I'm broken

Lost and cold and fading fast

Life is too short to last long

There's a stranger staring at the ceiling

Rescuing a tiger from a tree

The pictures in her head are always dreaming

Each of them means everything to me

And it's a long way back from seventeen

The whispers turn into a scream

And I'm, I'm not coming home

Weiss: Save your breath, I'm nearly

Bored to death and fading fast

Life is too short to last long

Yang (clean): Back on Earth, I'm broken

Lost and cold and fading fast

Life is too short to last long

Ruby and Blake: Oh(x15)

Weiss: I think I met her at the minute that the rhythm was set down

I said I'm sorry I'm a bit of a letdown

But all my friends are daring me to come over

So I come over and over and over

Yang (clean): So let me buy you a drink and we'll pretend that you think

That I'm the girl of your dreams come to life in a dive bar

And we'll go over and over and over

And we'll go over and over and over

Weiss and Yang (clean): And we'll go over and over and over

And we'll go over and over and over

Weiss: Save your breath, I'm nearly

Bored to death and fading fast

Life is too short to last long

Yang (clean): Back on Earth, I'm broken

Lost and cold and fading fast

Life is too short to last long

All: (way too many "oh's" to write here)

The crowd cheered again. It's almost like playing Blink-182 for these crowds is cheating, they always love it. We finished off our set with This Will Be the Day, and then said our goodbyes to the crowd. Yang told them to go check out one burger tent in  
particular, saying they were kickass. After a few minutes of packing up, Taiyang approached us with another man that I had never seen before.

"Well, that went well," the gray-haired man said.

"Didn't I tell you?" Taiyang asked him.

"Indeed," the other man agreed.

"Uh, Dad? Who's that?" Ruby asked.

"My apologies, allow me to introduce myself," the man said, walking toward Ruby with an outstretched hand. "I am Ozpin, President of the Beacon Record Company. You are Ruby, I presume?" A stunned silence fell over the four of us. President of Beacon Records?  
What's he doing here? And what would he want with us?

"Hey, Rubes? You there?" Taiyang asked.

"O-oh, right!" Ruby said, her father snapping her back to reality. She took Ozpin's hand. "Yeah, I'm Ruby."

"Then these three must be Weiss, Blake, and Yang," he said, regarding myself and the others. We all nodded in unison. "Splendid. I've heard a lot about you four from Taiyang. If you could all come to my office at Beacon tomorrow at noon, I would like  
to discuss some things."

"Um, yeah, of course! We'll definitely be there!" Ruby said, the rest of us nodding again.

"Very well, I shall see you all tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of the festival," Ozpin said with a smile.

I looked at my bandmates. All four of us wore the same shocked expression. What's in store for us tomorrow?

* * *

"Weiss, stop biting your nails," Yang said as we got in the elevator at Beacon Records. "You're gonna regret it when they hurt."

"They're not even bleeding yet, I'm fine," I said, disobeying my girlfriend and continuing to chew.

"Why are you so nervous, anyway?" Ruby asked.

"Because we're about to meet with the President of Beacon, we have no idea what we're in for in that room," I explained.

"He wants to sign us," Blake said bluntly.

"You don't know that!" I replied.

"Yeah we do," Ruby said. I glared at her. I expect this kind of forwardness from Blake, but from Ruby? Her girlfriend must be rubbing off on her.

"How could you guys possibly know?" I asked them.

"Weiss, think about it," Yang said. I was shocked. Why was I the only one not seeing what was happening? Even Yang, who I usually have to be the voice of reason for, was so sure of what was ahead of us. "Ozpin came to our show, approached us personally,  
praised us, and then invited us to his office. What else would he want besides negotiating a contract with us?"

"Well when you put it that way," I said. "I guess I was just overthinking."

"It's a big deal, I don't blame you," Blake said. But then a thought occurred to me.

"Ruby, how are you containing yourself right now?" I asked her. "Typically you'd be bouncing off the walls like a wild bullet."

"Weiss, we are in a professional environment," she explained in a voice that I could only assume was mocking me. "We need to appear professional. That being said, I would stay out of any room that I am in when we get home. I don't want to ricochet into  
you."

"Noted," I said, calming down. The elevator beeped, and the door opened on the top floor, Ozpin's office on the opposite end of the hall that stretched before us. Despite the reassurance from the others, the hallway seemed to stretch ahead of me, seeming  
ten times longer than it actually was. The walk from the elevator to the office door seemed like eternity. If the others were right, then something life changing awaited us behind that door. A lump formed in my throat and I could hear my pulse pounding  
in my ears

I must have started breathing differently, because Yang noticed. She put her arm around me and threw me one of her signature grins. The pounding in my head lessened, and I could breathe normally again. The four of us reached the door and stopped. We all  
looked at each other, conveying the same silent message. Our dreams were about to come true. Ruby smirked and grabbed the door handle, opening the door and revealing the grey-haired man sitting behind his desk.

"Hello Remnant," he said warmly, easing the excitement in the room. He had this air about him, like I was meeting an old friend after a long time, even though the first time we saw him was yesterday. He smiled at us, a friendly, knowing smile. He gestured  
to the four chairs he had arranged in front of his desk. The four of us took our seats.

"Do you know why I asked you four here today?" he asked us.

"Well, all signs point toward a recording contract," Blake said boldly. Ozpin's smile widened.

"The signs are correct," Ozpin confirmed. I felt Ruby shudder with excitement next to me. "But before we start negotiating, I would like to ask some questions."

"What would the nature of these questions be?" I asked, putting on my best businesswoman voice. I had to admit, being a Schnee allowed me to have plenty of exposure to business talk like this.

"Purely curious," Ozpin answered. "Pertaining to your history as musicians."

"Do you want to know how long each of us have been playing?" Ruby asked.

"No, I am referring to more recent history," Ozpin clarified. "It is my understanding that another band stole your original songs at the Vytal Festival Battle of the Bands. To my knowledge, the band disbanded after their loss." The four of us looked at  
each other. First we'd heard of it. "Is there any possibility that this band was made specifically to sabotage you?"

"It's more than possible, that's what happened," Yang said, still a tad bitter over the event.

"Oh?" Ozpin asked, his voice showing his intrigue. "May I ask how you know this?"

"We knew who was managing the band," Blake answered. "Her name is Cinder Fall."

"I see," Ozpin said, face hardening slightly as he heard the name. "What reason would Miss Fall have to sabotage you? Have you had any previous contracts with Salem Records?"

"I take it you know Cinder too?" Ruby asked, to which Ozpin nodded. "Yeah, we've talked with her before."

"She offered me a recording contract with Salem," I continued. "I told her I was not interested if I couldn't take the rest of the band with me."

"Your loyalty to your friends is commendable," Ozpin commented. "However, politely declining a contract hardly seems reason to sabotage a band's career."

"Well, it wasn't exactly polite," Yang clarified.

"What did you say to her?" Ozpin said, quirking a curious eyebrow.

"Want me to repeat it verbatim?" I asked. Ozpin nodded again. "I told her to go fuck herself."

"Well, that most certainly is not polite," Ozpin chuckled out. "Although I'd say that that is an appropriate response to a woman like Miss Fall."

"Not a fan either, huh?" Yang asked.

"Indeed," Ozpin confirmed. "Well, shall we get to the real reason you all are here?" The four of us nodded. "I believe you four have a place here at the Beacon Record Company." He reached into a drawer in his desk and pulled out a few sheets of paper.  
"This is my proposed contract. It is short and simple, and I encourage you to look over it."

I looked over the contract. I mostly looked for fine print and skimmed for keywords. After giving it a once-over, I looked back up at Ozpin.

"Is it too much to ask for you to recite the terms of the contract?" I asked.

"Not at all," Ozpin said smiling. If he leaves anything out, there might be something shady going on. "Beacon Records will fund recording sessions and concerts, as well as handle distribution of music through physical copies and digital platforms, unless  
requested by the band to withhold. Beacon will also fund tours, providing transportation and crew, should the band request it. Artists are encouraged to have an active role in the production of their music, they may consult with their producers, but  
we will not provide writers.

"In return for these services, the band is asked to accept any requests from the label. Should the band be unable to do as requested without good reason, the band's contract may fall into question."

"So what if we physically cannot do something that you ask us to?" Blake asked.

"Of course we will allow you to decline should problems arise," Ozpin answered. "We do not want to force our artists to do something they are uncomfortable with or unfit to do."

"Will we schedule our own tours?" Yang asked.

"If you wish to," Ozpin said. "We want to be here to help our artists if they should need us."

"What kind of transportation are we talking about here?" Ruby asked.

"We will make any flying arrangements you should require, and you will be provided with a bus for tours within a general area," Ozpin answered, to which Ruby got excited.

"We seem to have a lot of creative freedom here," I pointed out.

"We do not wish to hinder the creative process of our artists," Ozpin said, his smile still present. "They are allowed to create whatever they choose. We believe that you can't dictate art."

I looked at my bandmates. Ozpin covered everything that I saw in the contract and answered all of our questions thoroughly. We all had the same idea.

"Do you have a pen?" I asked. Ozpin's smile widened as he handed me the utensil. I signed my name on the contract, followed by Yang, then Ruby, then Blake. We handed back the contract. Ozpin looked at our signatures, before putting it down and looking  
back at us.

"Welcome to Beacon, Remnant."

* * *

 **Remnant Plays: Natewantstobatlle's version of Love Yourself (seriously, check out this cover, I don't like Bieber but this cover made me love the song)**

 **Beacon, where dreams come true. Thank you guys so much for reading, hope you enjoyed it! Remember to follow, fav, and review! See you guys next time!**


	16. Writer's Block

Chapter 16

Writer's Block

* * *

Ruby

"Why. Can't. I. Make. This. Work!?" I said, slamming my fists on my desk with each word. I heard Blake giggle at me from my bed. "You shut it!"

"Hey now, I already fixed From Shadows and wrote two more in the time you spent working on this one, I think I'm allowed," the Faunus said. I planted my face into my desk. For some reason, I just could not get the lyrics and rhythm down for the song I was working on, and the fact that Blake already had three ready to be composed wasn't making it easier. That put us at about five songs for the album, I figured we'd need at least ten for it to count as a full-length.

"We have to write four more after this one, too," I said, resignation tinting my voice.

"Lemme take a look," Blake said, stretching her hand out. Without lifting my head up, I handed it over. Blake took a moment to look over the sheet. "You're having trouble with this? Just have Yang rap the bridge."

"Why didn't I think of that!?" I said as I bolted upward. "How'd you figure that out so fast?"

"Babe, I play bass, rhythm is sort of my specialty," she snarked. A knocking on my door caught both of our attention.

"You two leaving room for Jesus in there? I heard banging," Yang called through the door.

"It's open, you can come in," I called back.

"Pants check," my sister said as she poked her head in. "Dinner's ready if you guys want to eat." Blake and I both nodded and followed her downstairs. Weiss was already at the counter dishing up. Dad was still at work, no doubt sorting some tour stuff out with Ozpin. When the three of us got our plates ready, we joined Weiss at the table.

"How's the writing coming, you two?" Weiss asked us.

"3 new songs are ready to be composed, and I think I fixed From Shadows, so that might be a contender for the album," Blake said.

"I hope we can keep it, it's fun to play!" Yang said with her mouth full. Weiss shot a look at her girlfriend, who then swallowed her food and said "Sorry, force of habit."

"If it fits, we keep it," I said before taking a bite.

"Maybe we could make that 4 ready to be composed?" Weiss asked.

"What do you mean?" Blake responded.

"I may have wrote something in my spare time, I don't think it could turn into a punk song though," Weiss elaborated.

"We don't necessarily have to stick to one genre, you know?" Yang said. "A little variety is never a bad thing."

"She's right," Blake said. "Let me take a look at it." Weiss pulled out her phone a typed for a few seconds, before Blake's vibrated. She took it out and read what Weiss sent her. "You're right, it's not punk, however I think it could be a decent intro song."

"But I already had an idea for an intro song!" I exclaimed.

"Wait, if you were working on something else, why didn't you work on that when you had block?" Blake asked.

"Well you see, I…" I was at a loss. That would've been a good idea. "Huh, why didn't I?"

"Well can we do both?" Weiss suggested. "What does yours sound like, Ruby?"

"It starts off all slow and pretty, right?" I said excitedly. "Then it goes into this really cool orchestral interlude, then the song turns into something we would normally play!"

"And how long is this song supposed to be?" Blake asked.

"Well, depending on how long we make the interlude." I said thoughtfully. "About eight minutes?"

"Eight!?" the other three exclaimed.

"What are we, Tool?" Yang joked.

"Ruby, that's really long for an intro song," Weiss said.

"I hate to say it sweetie, but I think Weiss's song would be a little better," Blake said with some sorrow in her voice.

"Here," I said, handing my phone to Blake. "Just take a look." Blake looked over what lyrics I had so far. "It's not done, but that should've pretty close."

"Well Ruby, it's really good," Blake said. She thought for a moment. "The punk segment honestly could be it's own song, so why don't we cut out part of that interlude, and then split it. The first part will be our opener followed by Weiss's song, then we'll put the second part later in the album."

"But it would sound so good together as a whole!" I protested.

"That's why we could play the full thing live," Blake continued. "We could have a slow build to the album though. I can work in a piano part for From Shadows and put it after Weiss's song… Weiss does this one have a name?"

"I was thinking Mirror, Mirror," Weiss answered.

"I like it!" Yang said.

"Same, so From Shadows will come after Mirror, Mirror. I think I can come up with a piano part to make it flow better." Blake turned toward me. "What do you want to call the song we just wrote?"

"I Burn, nice and simple," I answered.

"I Burn will be after From Shadows, and after that will be… Red Like Roses, Part 2," Blake explained.

"How'd you know I was calling it that?" I asked curiously.

"It's the only lyric that both parts share," Blake answered. "After that could be This Will Be the Day and Can't Trust Anybody Now, and we can end with my songs, I May Fall and Wings."

"Red Like Roses, Mirror Mirror, From Shadows, I Burn, Red Like Roses Part 2, This Will Be the Day, Can't Trust Anybody Now, I May Fall, and Wings," I listed off. Blake nodded in confirmation. "Well girls, I'd say we have a tracklist!" Almost immediately after I said it, Yang's phone started ringing.

"Hey, Dad," she said as she picked it up. "It's funny you called, we were going to head over to start composing as soon as we finished eating." Dad's voice came quietly from the speaker into Yang's ear. "Really? Well now we have to. Okay. Okay, sounds good! See you in a bit!" Yang hung up the phone.

"What was that about?" Weiss asked.

"Taiyang has a surprise for us," Blake said. I wondered how she knew that, but then I remembered her cat ears. I instinctively reached to pet them, before Blake slapped my hand away. "Not now, Ruby."

"That's right, we're supposed to head over as soon as we're done eating!" Yang said before shoveling the rest of her food into her mouth, with me following suit. Our girlfriends looked at us like animals, with Weiss putting her hand to her face and Blake rolling her eyes.

"C'mon you two, finish eating so we can go!" I said.

* * *

Dad led us out of the main building and out to the rear parking lot. Parked there was a massive bus. Strangely, it was painted with all of our hair colors, red, white, black, and yellow (since there's no blonde paint).

"Is… is that ours?" I asked nervously.

"It sure is!" Dad confirmed. The four of us immediately ran to it and inspected it. The inside was gorgeous. When you stepped into the cabin, the first thing you'd see is the massive TV that sat on the diagonal wall that separated the driver's compartment from the main cabin. Next to it was a U-shaped nook with a table, and across from that was a couch with a foldable table in the middle seat. The couch had a perfect view of the TV. A curtain separated this segment from the next one, which contained four bunks, all just big enough to squeeze two people in. A door at the back of this compartment led to storage, and in that room was the door to the bathroom.

"What do you guys think?" Dad asked.

"It's perfect!" I exclaimed, going to take a look at each individual part of the bus.

"Did you have anything like this with Embers?" Weiss asked Yang.

"No, we just had a couple of vans," Yang said in awe. "This shit's crazy though."

"Weiss!" I called out. "There's inputs on the TV! We can bring games on tour with us!"

"The bunks look like a cozy space to read in," Blake commented.

"Now before you guys start talking about touring or anything like that, you should probably finish your album," Dad said. "Yang told me you had some songs ready to be composed?"

"Actually, I think we have our full tracklist mostly written out," Blake said. "We just have to tweak a few things in some of them, and then compose."

"How many songs do you have?" he asked.

"Nine, but a couple of them are a bit longer," I said.

"That sounds good! Not enough to fill a complete set, but you can fill the rest with covers. I mean, Sam Hunt does it," Dad said. The four of us looked at him, confused as to who he was talking about. "Oh right, you four don't listen to country."

"Well, I need to figure out some orchestral segments," Blake said. "Do you want to be our producer again?"

"Of course," Dad said with a grin.

"Then you can help us track what we have already while Blake works on that!" I said. "Yang, you're up first!"

"Alright, drumming time!" Yang said excitedly.

* * *

 **Short chapter this time, wanted to get this out before I had to go out of town for the weekend, plus I couldn't think of anything meaningful to add to the chapter. As always, thank you guys so much for reading! To those of you that don't follow me or read _Simpler Times,_ I just started a new RWBY fic called _Stardust._ If any of you are interested in RWBY in a Star Wars-esque galaxy, feel free to check it out! See you guys later!**


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